The Criss Library follows all applicable Copyright and Fair Use policies.
Learn more about policies for each of these topics:
Course Reserve Copyright Policy
Video Streaming Copyright Policy
Archives & Special Collections Copyright Policy
Responsible Use of Electronic Resources Policy
Course Reserve Copyright Policy
Copyright permission is required when posting an item to electronic reserves. If your item meets the following criteria, permission is needed from the publisher before posting the item:
- The request for an item or items comprise more than 10% of a published work not owned by Criss Library
- The request consists of multiple articles from a single issue of a journal or newspaper
- The request is for item(s) required or optional reading for an individual course taught in multiple sections by multiple professors
The library will attempt to secure permission for use of the material by contacting the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC). Not all publishers are registered with CCC and we may be required to contact the publisher or author directly for copyright permission. It can take several weeks if the item is a special request through CCC or if we have to contact the author or publisher directly, so please submit all requests as early as possible and include your syllabus.
Additional information about copyright fees:
- Fees are per-semester, and may change from one semester to the next.
- Fees vary widely from one publisher to another. Fees are either a flat fee for the semester or calculated using a per page fee multiplied by the number of enrolled students.
- We can't guarantee that we will be able to obtain permission for an acceptable fee. Some publishers are unwilling to grant permission for any fee.
- The library will pay up to $50 per title and up to $400 per course in permissions fees. If fees for any single title are more than $50, or if the total fees for the course exceed $400, the request will be sent to the Director of Public Services for review and approval.
- You may request a summary of copyright clearance fees paid on your behalf a the end of each semester.
All libraries of the University of Nebraska System maintain course reserve collections, in both print and electronic formats, to support the instructional requirements of specific courses. In each library, the collection is made up of both copyrighted materials and non-copyrighted items, such as syllabi, lecture notes, and sample tests provided by professors. The libraries abide by the fair use provisions of copyrighted materials. Please review this information here: U.S. Copyright Act (Title 17, Section 107 U.S. Code)
Copyright Guidelines
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Scope of Material
- In accordance with fair use (Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act), the reserve collection may include copyrighted materials at the request of a course instructor.
- The reserve collection may include short items (such as an article from a journal, a chapter from a book or conference proceedings, or a poem from a collected work) or excerpts from longer items. "Longer items" may include articles, chapters, poems, and other works that are of such length as to constitute a substantial portion of a book, journal, or other work of which they may be a part. "Short items" may include articles, chapters, poems, and other works of a customary length and structure as to be a small part of a book, journal, or other work, even if that work may be marketed individually.
- The reserve collection should not include any material unless the instructor, the library, or another unit of the educational institution possesses a lawfully obtained copy.
- The total amount of material included in the reserve collection for a specific course as a matter of fair use should be a small proportion of the total assigned reading for a particular course.
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Notices and Attributions
- Copyright notice will appear on screen in the electronic reserve system and on copies made of reserve readings to indicate that materials may be covered by copyright law.
- Materials included in the electronic reserve collection should include appropriate citations or attributions to their sources.
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Access and Use
- Access to reserve materials is limited to students and instructors for that course.
- Materials in the electronic reserve system will be retrievable only by course or instructor.
- Students should not be charged specifically or directly for access to electronic reserve systems.
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Storage and Reuse
- Permission from the copyright holder is required if the item is to be reused in a subsequent academic term for the same course offered by the same instructor, or if the item is a standard assigned or optional reading for an individual course taught in multiple sections by many instructors.
- Short term access to materials included in the reserve collection in previous academic terms may be provided to students who have not completed the course.
- Material may be retained in electronic form while permission is being sought or until copyright permission has expired.
Approved by the Associate General Counsel
University of Nebraska April 2002
Video Streaming Copyright & Fair Use Policy
The following are excerpts from Title 17 of the Copyright Law of the United States. The sections describe the rights of a copyright owner and the exemptions for universities.
Section 106. Exclusive rights in copyrighted work
Subject to sections 107 through 122, the owner of copyright under this title has the exclusive rights to do and to authorize any of the following:
(1) to reproduce the copyrighted work in copies or phonorecords;
(2) to prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work;
(3) to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending;
(4) in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works, to perform the copyrighted work publicly; and
(5) in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, to display the copyrighted work publicly.
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 by 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.
Section 110. Limitations on exclusive rights: Exemption of certain performances and displays
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, the following are not infringements of copyright:
(1) performance or display of a work by instructors or pupils in the course of face-to-face teaching activities of a nonprofit educational institution, in a classroom or similar place devoted to instruction, unless, in the case of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, the performance, or the display of individual images, is given by means of a copy that was not lawfully made under this title, and that the person responsible for the performance knew or had reason to believe was not lawfully made;
(2) performance of a nondramatic literary or musical work or display of a work, by or in the course of a transmission, if-
(A) the performance or display is a regular part of the systematic instructional activities of a governmental body or a nonprofit educational institution; and
(B) the performance or display is directly related and of material assistance to the teaching content of the transmission; and
(C) the transmission is made primarily for-
- (i) reception in classrooms or similar places normally devoted to instruction, or
- (ii) reception by persons to whom the transmission is directed because their disabilities or other special circumstances prevent their attendance in classrooms or similar places normally devoted to instruction, or
- (iii) reception by officers or employees of governmental bodies as a part of their official duties or employment
Archives & Special Collections Copyright Policy
The copyright law of the United States governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyright materials. Certain conditions specified by copyright law, authorize libraries and archives to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. The use of a photocopy or reproduction must fall within “fair use,” which is, “noncommercial teaching, research, scholarship, or news reporting purposes.” Copies in any format may not be further reproduced, sold, shared, or given to another person, company, or institution for any purpose without the written permission of Archives & Special Collections.
If a researcher makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction in excess of “fair use,” that researcher may be liable for copyright infringement. Archives & Special Collections reserves the right to refuse to authorize a copy if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.
Securing permission to publish or use material is the responsibility of the researcher. Note that unless specifically transferred to the University of Nebraska Omaha, any applicable copyrights may be held by another individual or entity.
Researchers will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Archives & Special Collections and the University of Nebraska Omaha against all claims, demands, costs, and expenses incurred by copyright infringement or other legal or regulatory cause of action arising from use of Archives & Special Collections materials.
Permission to Publish
Criss Library’s Archives & Special Collections grants researchers permission to publish, display, or broadcast materials from its holdings for which it holds ownership and/or other rights. Permission must be requested for publications in any format including print, electronic, web, film, or other. Unless explicitly transferred to the university, copyright to material may be held by the creator(s), their heir(s), or designee(s) and it is the responsibility of researchers to request copyright permission from those individuals or entities separately.
All researchers requesting permission to publish material must complete this form and submit it to the director of Archives & Special Collections. If your request is granted, you will be notified within 10 business days. Researchers may be responsible for associated fees.
Responsible Use of Electronic Resources
The Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library negotiates and maintains contracts with a large number of publishers and vendors to provide access to thousands of electronic resources (databases, electronic journals, abstracts, etc.) in support of the university's teaching and research mission. Licenses with these publishers and vendors specify the permissions and restrictions governing their use.
Each user is responsible for complying with the terms and conditions of these licenses. Failure to do so can result in either temporary or possibly permanent loss of access to a resource for the entire university community.
Authorized Users
On campus access to licensed electronic resources is restricted to students, faculty, staff and other authorized users including walk-in users. Off campus access to licensed resources is limited to current UNO students, staff, faculty and other authorized users registered with the Criss Library.
Authorized Uses
Electronic resources are available for use solely in support of the educational or personal research use of students, staff, faculty and other authorized users.
In using these resources, licenses generally allow:
- Viewing, retrieving, displaying, and saving portions of the licensed material on an electronic storage media (e.g. diskettes, hard disks, flash drives)
- Printing single copies of portions of the licensed material
Prohibited Uses
Engaging in the following actions may result in the suspension or cancellation of access to an electronic resource for the entire UNO community:
- Systematically downloading materials (for example downloading an entire journal issue), large-scale downloading from databases to create other collections of data or the use of robots, spiders, crawlers, or any software designed to automatically browse the web or record web activity
- Systematically making printed or electronic copies of multiple portions of the licensed material
- Displaying or distributing any part of the licensed material on the Internet
- Using any portion of the licensed material for any commercial purpose
- Removing or altering copyright notices or other means of identification or disclaimers as they appear in the licensed material
Reproductions of licensed material by the Criss Library for any of its users are made only to the extent allowed in a resource's license agreement or under the provisions of the U.S. Copyright Law, section 108. Reproductions provided to authorized users are with the understanding that copies will only be used for educational purposes and not to be reproduced for further distribution.