College tuition is more expensive than ever. College students have to do their best to cut back on all expenses, from food, living expenses, and even textbooks. Many students wonder, is it legal to photocopy a textbook? Purchasing a textbook is always the best choice, and you may be able to photocopy a small section of a textbook without legal repercussions. However, if you photocopy too much of a textbook, you could be subject to expensive copyright infringement claims.
Textbooks are almost always protected by copyright laws. Copyright law will protect the pictures, graphics, and actual text of the book. Owners of copyright have six exclusive rights over their copyrighted work. Only the copyright owners or someone who has licensed the owner’s work can exercise these rights. The relevant rights state that only copyright owners have the right to:
- Reproduce the copyrighted work in copies or phono records
- Prepare derivative works based on the copyrighted work
- Distribute copies or phono records of the copyrighted work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership by rental, lease, or lending
These rights dictate that only the copyright owners or those who are licensed have the right to make photocopies of their textbooks. Because a photocopy of a textbook can be considered a reproduction of the work, making photocopies may infringe on copyright laws, unless it occurs in a situation where the copying is deemed fair use.
A student may be able to legally make photocopies under fair use law. Though authors have broad control over how their copyrighted works are used, fair use law allows individuals to use copyright material without the author’s permission for select reasons. An individual may use copyrighted material if they are using it as parody, to criticize or comment, for news reporting, teaching, or for scholarship and research. Under these laws, it would appear that students can photocopy textbooks if they are using the material for class or research papers.
The good news for students is, fair use law allows a student to occasionally photocopy a few chapters for school work. So if a professor assigns only a few chapters for reading for the whole semester, and you do not want to purchase the book, you may have a one time pass to make photocopies of those chapters.
However, it does not permit a student to photocopy the entire book and distribute copies to their friends. If you are unsure if your behavior constitutes an infringement, you may want to consult an intellectual property attorney. When in doubt, remember that purchasing a textbook will cost less than a lawsuit.
