Guides: Fair Use & Copyright: Video, Music, &amp; Images

Especially with presentation slides, ask yourself if the image is necessary to your learning goals.
- For example, using a meme of Kermit sipping tea to add humor to a slide is not as necessary to your curriculum as using a meme of Kermit sipping tea to talk about memes in modern marketing.
When a specific image isn't essential to your lesson plan, use images from Creative Commons. Remember to give credit to the original creator; don't plagiarize!

DVDs/ Films
- In a face-to-face class, a film can be streamed if it supports the curriculum.
- In an online class, only a portion of a film can be streamed to the class. It is important to ensure that the video is not posted in a way that would allow students to download the film from Canvas.
- Students and faculty in media studies can use screen capture to make compilations of film clips.
YouTube- showing YouTube videos in class or linking to them through Canvas is usually compliant with fair use as long as the YouTube content creator did not violate fair use to create it.
- Not Fair Use: Showing a YouTube video of the musical Cats that was filmed from someone's seat in the theatre would violate fair use as it wasn't obtained legally.
- Fair Use: Showing a clip of the YouTube video "Why the Music in Cats (2019) Was Worse Than You Thought" could be considered fair use because copywritten materials are used briefly for critique.

Just like films, music can be streamed in class if it supports the educational material and if you are streaming a legal copy. It favors fair use when you use only a portion of the song.
If you want to include background music for in-class or instructional videos, check out royalty-free music.
If you are a music instructor and want more information on copyright and sheet music and recording, see this guide from the National Association for Music Education.

Fair Use & Copyright