Draft 08/31/2009

(Questions? Concerns? Contact Gail McMillan, Director of the Digital Library and Archives at Virginia Tech's University Libraries: gailmac@vt.edu)

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Virginia Tech ETD Fair Use Analysis Tool

Please complete all fields and answer all questions. You must answer every question to receive fair use determination guidance. If you answer "don't know," it will weigh against fair use.

Your name

Provide a citation for the item you are considering for fair use: (e.g., Figure 1.1. ABC Festival. Source: XYZ: PQ Publishers, May 2000, p.20)

Factor 1: Consider the purpose and character of the use you made of someone else's copyrighted material in your ETD.

Assumptions impacting this factor: An ETD available on the Internet is considered the equivalent to making multiple copies available. VT is a non-profit educational institution. The purpose of the ETD is research, academic and educational.

1. Was the purpose of your use of the copyrighted work for a business or commercial activity?

Yes
No
Please make a selection.

2. Was the reason for using the copyrighted work also to entertain?

Yes
No
Please make a selection.

3. Was criticism, commentary, news reporting, or parody a reason for using the copyrighted work in your ETD?

Yes
No
Please make a selection.

4. Have you given credit to the author or creator of the copyrighted work in your ETD?

Yes
No
Please make a selection.

5. Did you redo or alter the copyrighted work to serve a new purpose when you used it in your ETD?

Yes
No
Please make a selection.

Factor 2: Consider the nature of the copyrighted work you used in your ETD.

1. Is it a creative work, such as a picture of a painting, a poem, or a work of fiction?

Yes
No
Please make a selection.

2. Did it come from a published work?

Yes
No
Don't know
Please make a selection.

3. Is it a factual work, such as a quote from a scientific journal, a graph or a table derived from statistical data?

Yes
No
Please make a selection.

Factor 3: Consider the extent and significance of the copyrighted work you used.

1. Did you use a substantial portion of the copyrighted work?

Yes
No
Please make a selection.

2. Was the part of the copyrighted work you included in your ETD a negligible part of the whole work?

Yes
No
Don't know
Please make a selection.

3. Was the portion of the work you included in your ETD central to or the heart of the copyrighted work?

Yes
No
Don't know
Please make a selection.

Factor 4: Consider the effect your use of the copyrighted material may have on the (potential) sale of the copyrighted work.

1. Did you lawfully acquire a copy of copyrighted material you used in your ETD?

Yes
No
Please make a selection.

2. Will access to the copyrighted work in your ETD have a notable effect on the market or potential market for the original work?

Yes
No
Don't know
Please make a selection.

3. Is there a licensing mechanism in place for using the copyrighted work?

Yes
No
Don't know
Please make a selection.

4. Could access to the copyrighted material in your ETD replace the use of original copyrighted work?

Yes
No
Please make a selection.

5. Would it be affordable (i.e., cost-effective) for you to get permission for using the copyrighted work?

Yes
No
Don't know

Please make a selection.