"Fair is foul and foul is fair"

Fair use is a legal defense (not a right) founded on the belief that the public is entitled to freely use portions of copyrighted materials for purposes of commentary or criticism. Fair use applies to education because many teachers utilize copyrighted material without legal permission. If caught, school's deny infringement and argue fair use. The line between infringement and fair use, however, is quite ambiguous. The U.S. Copyright Office acknowledges that the "distinction between what is fair use and what is infringement in a particular case will not always be clear or easily defined. There is no specific number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be taken without permission. Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission." Although there are certain guidelines for fair use-- such as not impeding upon the nature of the work, borrowing only a limited amount of the work, and not changing the value of the work on the marketplace-- there are no specific limitations on the amount of work being borrowed.

The legal implications in the world of copyrighted work is confusing-- especially in regards to education. On the one hand, we have to question whether it is fair for schools to be deprived of material they cannot afford. On the other hand, we have to question whether it is fair for schools who can afford classroom material to be deprived of leniency. In order to please everyone (the people who have copyrighted work and the people who borrow copyrighted work for educational purposes), the rules and regulations are ambiguous and, in a way, paradoxical: "Fair is foul and foul is fair." The guidelines must become more strict or more lenient, favoring one set of people or the other. Regardless, more schools (administration, faculty/staff, and students) should be educated on the subjects of copyright, infringement, and fair use-- as this is the first time I am ever learning about it.