Placing items on course reserve with ODU Library often raises questions about copyright. It is ODU Library's intention to follow copyright laws. Below are guidelines for placing items on reserves in a manner that complies with current copyright law. For more information about copyright in general and relevant resources at ODU Library, please return to .
provides a few simple questions to assist in ascertaining basic copyright compliance for your reserve items. Because copyright restrictions often vary according to the item's format, more information about different formats can be found below.
- The library requires that a * be filled out for EACH reading which you wish to place on Reserve. This form requires a complete citation for the reading, and must include copyright information.
- You may place photocopies of chapters of books and/or articles from newspapers and magazines on reserve. The Reserve unit will monitor the length of materials to ensure that the materials placed on reserve conform to the Federal Copyright Act and the "fair use" guidelines.
- Multiple copies of an item, up to one for every 10 students, may be placed on reserve.
- The library can place photocopied materials on reserve . At the end of the semester, the material will be removed from reserve unless the faculty member or instructor fills out a new form requesting continued reserve access.
- In some cases you must secure copyright permission before placing a photocopy on course reserve. Permission must be obtained if more than 10% of a work is copied. For repeated use of a photocopied article or book chapter, permission must be obtained each semester the article or chapter is used. In some cases the copyright holder will require the payment of a royalty before granting permission.
- There is no copyright issue in placing ODU Library books or personal copies of material supplied by the instructor ( e.g. textbooks, workbooks, out-of-print items) or material created by the professor (e.g exams, bibliographies) on reserve. However, photocopies may be placed on reserve in the library without permission only if they have not been used for the same class in previous semesters.
Please note the following factors in determining if an item falls under copyright protection or can be considered in the public domain:
- If the reading was published by the U. S. government, it is generally in the public domain.
- For works created in 1978 or later, copyright lasts from the creation of the work until 70 years after the author's death.
- For works created before 1978 with a copyright notice, the maximum duration of copyright protection is 95 years.
- Works published in 1923 or later which bear a copyright notice are presumed to be still under copyright protection.
- Works published before 1978 without a copyright notice, and all works published before 1923, are considered to be in the public domain.
The guidelines above generally also apply to Electronic Reserves, with the major exception of Guideline #6 relating to personal copies.
Electronic Reserves are now located in . For more information on Electronic Reserves, please see or for ANGEL E-Reserves.
For guidelines regarding multimedia, please review our suggested copyright resources for or . Due to the rapid changes occurring in technology, copyright laws are also changing quickly. Further changes in the copyright laws will be sent out as they are received.