As the Copyright Act of 1976 was being developed, The House of Representatives published guidelines intended to help educators make decisions about the use of copyrighted materials (primarily photocopies) for classroom use. The “Classroom Guidelines,” as they are widely known, are not part of the act and are not legally binding; nonetheless, they offer generally acceptable parameters for copying, including: “(a) Either a complete article, story or essay of less than 2,500 words or (b) an excerpt from any prose work provided the excerpt is not more than 1,000 words or 10% of the work, whichever is less, and a minimum of 500 words.” At the same time they provide multiple prohibitions, including “The inspiration and decision to use the work and the moment of its use for maximum teaching effectiveness are so close in time that it would be unreasonable to expect a timely reply to a request for permission.”
Marist faculty are encouraged to read the guidelines in their entirety before making any decisions about using copies for classroom use. Furthermore, as per Marist’s copyright policy, the use of copyrighted materials other than pursuant to an existing license is discouraged and is at the faculty member’s own risk.