Case+01+-+Ms.+Deluca’s+Article

Ms. Deluca teaches an 11th grade HSPA preparation course. She has done it for four years and has tried various books, software, and prepackaged curriculum and has developed her own customized way to teach the course. Her school district is currently facing budget cuts and she has been asked to trim her budget from the previous year. She worries that one of the most successful items in her curriculum is breaking copyright law. She uses a Xerox of a US News and World Report Article that gives a point/counterpoint about school uniforms, “School Uniforms: Discipline or Distraction.” Every year for the last two years she has made about 60 copies of the article and asked the students to underline the facts and to circle the opinions. The front of the magazine clearly give a copyright warning about reproducing the articles. However, she thought because it was for educational use, it was legal. Besides, the school is having budget problems and there is really no other way to get just this article.

Commentary

Looking at the four factors of fair use, this case would focus is on the purpose because Ms. Deluca is involved in nonprofit educational use of the material. We would also focus on the amount and substantiality of the portion taken since it is only one article from a magazine. Finally, we can consider the effect of the use upon the potential market. Although one can buy the entire magazine, there are no easily available channels or market for single articles. In total, this case seems to fall under Fair Use.