Copyright Policies
Members of the UNI community are bound by law to honor the copyrights of intellectual property creators. At the same time, as members of a university, UNI faculty, staff, and students have certain fair use rights which give some latitude for use of copyrighted materials in educational endeavors. Rod Library is the university’s central point of access to intellectual materials, many of them copyrighted. In order to honor copyright while extending to the university community the benefits of educational fair use, Rod Library has created policies which attempt to balance the restrictions of copyright law and the educational benefits of fair use. This site makes available the set of Rod Library copyright policies for your review.
Contacts for copyright information at UNI:
- General copyright education and advice as to how to adhere to copyright in particular cases: The UNI Office of Research & Sponsored Programs.
- Reference & Research concerning copyright: Library Services Desk (319) 273-2838. Or, Ask a Librarian.
- Questions concerning this page or Rod Library copyright policies: Email Linda McLaury (linda.mclaury@uni.edu).
- Copyright Law of the United States of America: Along with general copyright laws, this includes a chapter on copyright of sound recordings.
- MLA Copyright for Music Librarians: This includes information of current copyright issues and laws.
- Public Domain Information-Music: "A reference site to help identify public domain songs and public domain music . . ."
The copyright law of of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than the 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 supplier reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order, if in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.
The Copyright Law further requires us to keep a record of all materials ordered for five years. We must report anything beyond five copies out of one publication in a year's time, if it has occurred within the past five years, to the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) to gain permission for and pay fees for the use of these materials. If we cannot obtain permission from the CCC, the request is denied.
For example, between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020, a library may request up to a total of five articles published between 2015 and 2020 from the magazine Journal of Irreproducible Results without violating copyright guidelines. The five articles allowed are counted from the entire five year span and are not counted as five from each year.