Case+06+-+Ms.+Soltys's+Article

//Ms. Soltys’s Article//

Ms. Soltys teaches a 5th and 6th grade NJASK test prep course after school. She has been teaching this course for the past two years and tried using appropriate software and texts. Recently, the school district experienced a severe budget cut. This budget cut will affect Ms. Soltys’s test prep course. She will no longer be able to receive updated test prep booklets, software, and texts. Last year, she received one NJASK 5 and one NJASK 6 booklet, and is expected to reuse them this year. In her test prep class, she has a total of 60 students. In order to offer the test prep her students need, she makes copies of each unit and distributes it to 30 students (the students will work in pairs), and collects the units at the end of each course. She fears she is breaking the copyright law. On each page of the booklet, it clearly states a copyright warning about reproducing the test prep units. Ms. Soltys was given this extra curricular duty, and since she only received one copy of each grade level text, she strongly felt her actions were legal.

//Commentary//

Reviewing the factors of fair use, we can focus on the source of reproducing the copyrighted material. In regards to the amount of material given, we can focus on the amount of the reproducing Ms. Soltys is doing. The amount of copies are limited and are being used solely for educational purposes. Also, the reproducible copies are being used as factual information rather than expressive. The reproduced information does not leave the building, and is not shared with other members of the school. Finally, there are no outside resources that can be used within Ms. Soltys’s test prep course. The state clearly suggests using the test prep booklet that was given to her at the beginning of the course. In conclusion, this case falls under the category of fair use.