Court Rules on University E-Reserves Copyright Case

Art teachers and professors, pay attention! Academic publishers on Friday notched a win in the ongoing legal debate about digital access to copyrighted works, as the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a broad ruling on how to determine fair use.

Rather than strike a decisive blow either for or against fair use, the legal concept that places some limits on the rights of copyright holders, the appeals court instead issued a stern warning against quick-fix, one-size-fits-all solutions to legal disputes — specifically, the idea that copying less than a chapter or 10 percent of a book automatically protects an institution from a lawsuit.

The case is Cambridge University Press et. al. v. Patton.

Via Inside Higher Ed, Copyright Librarian, and Kevin Smith of Duke University Libraries.