Case+29+-+Fair+Use+for+Dummies

=// Fair Use for Dummies //= Mrs. Smith teaches middle school math. Year after year, she finds that the students always have the most difficulty with solving word problems, especially open-ended ones. This is a topic that Mrs. Smith emphasizes over and over again throughout the year; not only is it an important skill to teach her students, but it is also appears throughout the math section of the state tests given each spring. Usually by the time spring break comes, her students have a good grip on solving word problems. However, this year Mrs. Smith has a class of students that are still struggling with the concept and the state tests are only 2 weeks away! After asking her colleagues for advice and using all the materials she already has, she heads to the bookstore to buy a “Math for Dummies” book. Mrs. Smith copies only the chapter on solving open-ended questions for her class that is still having a hard time with the concept as extra reinforcement. She plans on using the chapter as a jump-off point and to add her own piece to the lesson. =// Commentary //= This scenario would fall under Fair Use for many reasons. First of all, it is used for an educational purpose. Secondly, Mrs. Smith is only copying one chapter out of the whole book. Thirdly, her work differs from the original work since she is planning on adding in her own piece to the lesson. Lastly, this is something that Mrs. Smith does not do year after year. She is only doing it as a one-time thing to help a select group of students who are struggling, not all of them. Mrs. Smith's use will not have an adverse effect on the sales of the book -- if anything exposure to the material might encourage one of the students to purchase the book.