Case+10+-+Mrs.+Ross's+Dilemma

Case 10-Mrs. Ross’s Dilemma In October, Mrs. Ross’s principal evaluated her in class. She teaches math to 3rd graders. The principal notices Mrs. Ross has a computer program, which is made especially for schools and prominently displays the time left for completion of the worksheet. One of the students gets up to hit start and returns to his seat to do his work. This exercise is to prepare the students for the NJASK in March. The principal loves the program because it's working so well with this class. The principal asks Mrs. Ross to copy the program onto one computer in each of the other classrooms in the building. Since this would mean copying it onto over 30 computers, Mrs. Ross suggests buying more copies to be above and beyond the limit under Fair Use. She also mentions she bought it for about $10. The principal states that the building has no more money in the budget to get the program and reminds Mrs. Ross that she is not yet tenured. Mrs. Ross copies the disc onto the 30+ computers.

Commentary This is not Fair Use, even though it is for educational use and is being used for its intended audience.This company created this program for use in schools and probably realized that only one copy per classroom would be needed. By copying it 30+ times this one school has shorted the company at least $300, based on $10 a disc price. The entire program was also copied. The outcome is that out of four questions to ask yourself, three answers clearly fall under the infringement of Fair Use.

Addional Comment: It seems that, instead of the administrators focusing on the prevention of infringement, it’s the opposite. I understand that not being tenured is a big pressure in every school district, because you can end without a job for the next school year. Administrators cannot threaten faculty and make them violate copyright laws. I would definitely say that this case was not about fair use, since they took advantage of the one copy that Mrs. Ross had. (By Carolina Guerrero)