Copyright Guidelines

Use of Copyrighted Materials

Copyright rules (PDF) apply to all work produced by Print Services. Please obtain copyright permission before requesting use of any copyrighted materials.

Fitchburg State University encourages its faculty, staff, and students to respect the intellectual property rights of others and to abide by applicable intellectual property laws, including copyright law. Without understanding the copyright law, including elements such as the doctrine of “Fair Use” and its application and limitations in the educational setting, faculty members, copy centers, university stores, universities and colleges themselves, and others, will be at risk for engaging in illegal photocopying. Fitchburg State University neither condones nor authorizes the making of copies in violation of U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S. Code).

Fair Use

Fair use only applies to these items:

  • A chapter from a book;
  • An article from a periodical or newspaper;
  • A short story, short essay or short poem;
  • A chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon or picture from a book, periodical or newspaper.