Copyright

Given the relative uncertainty about the meaning of fair use as applied to various situations, especially in the educational setting, various interested parties have proposed the creation of "guidelines" that attempt to interpret and apply the law to common circumstances.

Guidelines for Educational Uses of Music

From U.S. Copyright Office website - Circ 21: Reproductions of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians - Fair Use 2b (iii) Guidelines With Respect to Music:

A. Permissible Uses

1. Emergency copying to replace purchased copies that for any reason are not available for an imminent performance, provided purchased replacement copies are substituted in due course.

2. a) For academic purposes other than performance, multiple copies of excerpts of works may be made, provided that the excerpts do not comprise a part of the whole which would constitute a performable unit such as a section, movement or aria, but in no case more than 10% of the whole work. The number of copies may not exceed one copy per student.

b) For academic purposes other than performance, a single copy of an entire performable unit (section, movement, aria, etc.) that is

(1) confirmed by the copyright proprietor to be out of print, or

(2) unavailable except in a larger work may be made by or for a teacher solely for the purpose of his or her scholarly research or in preparation to teach a class.

3. Printed copies that have been purchased may be edited or simplified, provided that the fundamental character of the work is not distorted, that the lyrics (if any) are not altered, and that no lyrics are added, if none exist.

4. A single copy of recordings of performances by students may be made for evaluation or rehearsal purposes and may be retained by the educational institution or individual teacher.

5. A single copy of a sound recording (such as a tape, disc or cassette) of copyrighted music may be made from sound recordings owned by an educational institution or an individual teacher for the purpose of constructing aural exercises or examinations and may be retained by the educational institution or individual teacher. (This permitted copying pertains only to the copyright of the music itself and not to any copyright which may exist in the sound recording.)

B. Prohibitions

1. Copying to create or to replace or substitute for anthologies, compilations or collective works.

2. Copying of or from works intended to be "consumable" in the course of study or of teaching such as workbooks, exercises, standardized tests and answer sheets and like material.

3. Copying for the purpose of performance, except as in A(1) above.

4. Copying for the purpose of substituting for the purchase of music, except as in A.1 and A.2 above.

5. Copying without inclusion of the copyright notice which appears on the printed copy.