Skip to Main Content

Interlibrary Loan

Access Services manages interlibrary loan services for Murray State University faculty, staff and students.

Copyright and Fair Use Information

What is copyright?

  • The Copyright Act of 1976- 17 U.S.C. §§ 101-810 was designed to protect “original works of authorship” i.e. intellectual property that has fixed in a tangible form of expression. This includes but is not limited to
    • Literary Works
    • Musical works, including any accompanying words
    • Dramatic works, including any accompanying music
    • Pantomimes and choreographic works
    • Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
    • Motion pictures and other audiovisual works
    • Sound recordings
    • Architectural works

What is NOT protected by copyright?

  • Works that have not been fixed in a tangible form of expression such as improvised speeches or performances that have not been recorded in paper or video format
  • Titles, names, short phrases, slogans, logos, and emblems (Trademark)
  • Ideas, procedures, methods, processes, discoveries, and devices (Patent)
  • Facts or works consisting entirely of information that is common knowledge containing no original authorship

What is fair use?

  • 17 U.S.C. §§ 108 exempts libraries from copyright laws when
    • The reproduction or distribution is made without any purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage
    • The collections of the library or are 
      • Open to the public
      • Available not only to researchers affiliated with the library or archives or with the institution of which it is part of, but also to other persons doing research in a specialized field
      • The reproduction or distribution of the work includes a notice of copyright

Fair Use and Interlibrary Loan

  • Some facets of interlibrary loan trigger copyright while other do not:
    • The borrowing/lending of physical resources does not trigger copyright
    • Digitization of physical resources and the dissemination of electronic resources trigger copyright

Restrictions to the Fair Use Exemptions

  • Cambridge University Press v. Becker, Case No. 1:08-cv-01425
    • Reproductions should not exceed 10% of the total work
  • Rule of Two (Section 108)
    • Libraries may provide one article, per issue, per patron without requesting copyright permission
  • Rule of Five (National Commission of New Technological Uses of Copyrighted Works)
    • No more than 5 copies, chapters, or articles from a single title or journal within one calendar year from publications or serials less than 5 years old

Paying for Reproduction of Works

  • Ideally (for publishers) royalties would be paid for each use or reproduction of work
  • There are companies to manage copyright royalties payments
    • Copyright Clearance Center
      • CCC GetItNow
  • Publishers often place embargos on subscriptions to prevent dissemination for newly published content

How Academic Institutions Work Together

  • Because academic institutions are primarily the sole consumers of journals and serials:
    • Groups of libraries and universities together in consortia can often negotiate cheaper royalty fees
    • Academic authors can publish their work open access to make it more readily available to consumers