Case+22+-+Mrs.+O's+Current+Events

Mrs. O’Connor was looking to integrate current events into her honors biology class. She found a great article while reading the local Asbury Park Press newspaper that is delivered daily into her home. The article highlighted the biotechnological advancements made by a local company. They were using genetics to treat several illnesses. The article was a great example of how some of the genetic concepts Mrs. O’Connor was teaching in class could be applied in the real world. Additionally, she hoped the article would inspire students to pursue careers in this field of science. The next day she decided to duplicate the article for her 60 honors biology students. Mrs. O’Connor’s 3 biology classes spent 20 minutes reading and discussing this article during class. Later that evening, Mrs. O’Connor found the very same article available on the newspaper’s website free of charge. Mrs. O’Connor was concerned that she may have broken copyright laws. However, she felt that because she only copied and distributed one article out of very many that she was protected by Fair Use in education.

Commentary: Mrs. O’Connor’s use of this article in her classroom is considered Fair Use of copyrighted material. The article was used for educational, non-profit use. It was part of a large local newspaper that many students’ families probably subscribe to daily. By copying and distributing this one article, there was no impact on the profits of the newspaper, as most student households had the paper delivered daily. Mrs. O’Connor used the article to draw attention to something relevant to her academic class. She used the article to inspire her students and show them the true value of their studies. Additionally, Mrs. O’Connor obtained her original copy of the article legally. She waited until the next day to introduce the article to her class. Daily newspapers are typically only for sale for one day, so there would no longer be room for profit. The use of this one article would not prevent sales of a future copy of the newspaper. Additionally, she was only making it available to her students, not posting it on the internet.