An academic coursepack is a collection of materials (usually photocopied) assembled by a course instructor and sold to students. Since a federal court ruling in 1991 (Basic Books Inc. v. Kinko's Graphics Corp. 21 U.S.P.Q.2.D (BNA) 1639), it has been law that the reproduction of copyrighted materials in academic coursepacks is not protected by the doctrine of fair use (see 17 USCS §107) and that written permission is required for all copyrighted material used.
The following requirements must be followed when assembling and selling academic coursepacks to students:
- Written copyright permission must be obtained for all materials used except when the instructor has authored and retained copyright of the material assembled in the coursepack.
- each semester the material is used unless permission to use it beyond a single semester has been expressly granted by the copyright holder.
- A copyright notice must be displayed on all materials used in the coursepack
- Circular 21 Reproduction of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians, Agreement on Guidelines for Classroom Copying in Not-For-Profit Educational Institutions with Respect to Books and Periodicals, Section III must be observed (see below).
- The material must be of a copy quality that makes them clear and easy to read;
- University employees may not charge or collect money from students unless specifically authorized to do so. Therefore, course materials, including textbooks and other assigned readings, may not be sold by faculty members directly to students. All fees charged in connection with a course, such as miscellaneous course fees, must follow established procedures and be collected by the University's accounting office. All required and supplemental course materials must be available for sale to students through the Dominican University of California Bookstore.
- No charge beyond the actual cost of photocopying may be passed along to the student.
Circular 21 Reproduction of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians, Agreement on Guidelines for Classroom Copying in Not-For-Profit Educational Institutions with Respect to Books and Periodicals, Section III
Excerpt from Circular 21, U.S. Copyright Office http://www.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ21.pdf
A. Copying shall not be used to create or to replace or substitute for anthologies, compilations, or collective works. Such replacement or substitution may occur whether copies of various works or excerpts therefrom are accumulated or are reproduced and used separately.
B. There shall be no copying of or from works intended to be "consumable" in the course of study or teaching. These include workbooks, exercises, standardized tests and test booklets and answer sheets and like consumable material.
C. Copying shall not:
i. substitute for the purchase of books, publisher's reprints or periodicals
ii. be directed by higher authority
iii. be repeated with respect to the same item by the same teacher from term to term.
D. No charge shall be made to the student beyond the actual cost of the photocopying
