Copyright

New technologies provide enhanced opportunities to reproduce copyrighted works. Sometimes making use of these opportunities even for scholarly, research, or educational ventures can create conflicts with commercial interests. The purpose of copyright law is to balance responsible use with ownership. Users of copyrighted materials must keep informed of their rights and responsibilities to ensure compliance with copyright law.

Those that obtain and use photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted works from the Libraries are asked to sign a copy of the Notice of Restrictions. These restrictions also apply to individuals making copies and are posted by every photocopier:

NOTICE

Warning Concerning Copyright Restriction

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials.

Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use”, that user may be liable for copyright infringement.

This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.

Fair Use

The copyright law also provides guidelines to help us determine “fair use.”

U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. 
Section 107. Limitations on Exclusive Rights: Fair Use

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified in that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include –
(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
(2) the nature of the copyrighted work; 
(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

If it is determined that the intended use is not a “fair use,” permission must be obtained to use the work. If permission is denied, other works might be considered, or visit the Office of the General Council. For related information see the Information Technology Services page on Intellectual Property and Copyrightand Section 190 of the NDSU Policy Manual.

Electronic Resources and Acceptable Use

Electronic journals, periodicals, full-text databases, reserves. and other electronic information also fall under the copyright law. Use of the NDSU Libraries’ electronic resources follows the same copyright guidelines as for print materials. Use of the computers in the Libraries is governed by the Acceptable Usepolicy.

Plagiarism

Failing to give credit when you use someone else’s words, work, or ideas is a serious breach of ethics called plagiarism, or cheating. Purchasing an essay from an online service or borrowing something your roommate wrote for another class are also considered dishonest and forms of plagiarism. Avoid plagiarism by keeping careful documentation when taking notes, and citing any quoted or paraphrased text, images, or other borrowed information.

Citing Your Sources

The purpose of citing sources is to give credit to the authors or the sources you use, to give credibility to the facts you state, and to enable anyone who uses your work to locate these sources and determine their validity. This makes it very important to include accurate information and double check your citations.

It is also important that citations be uniform in style so that readers can properly interpret their meaning. Citation styles vary. The important thing is that whichever citation style is used, it is applied consistently and uniformly. The Modern Language Association (MLA) and the American Psychological Association (APA) produce two of the style manuals used on many college campuses. Other styles may be required by specific disciplines. If you need assistance with citations, contact someone at the Reference Desk. The Center for Writers, located in the lower level of the Library, can assist you with writing problems, including citation questions.