Question

Monic, a college professor, makes 30 photocopies of a magazine article and passes the article out to her students. The students are assigned to read the article and write an opinion paper about it. Has Monic violated copyright law?

1) Yes. Though the author will probably not enforce his or her rights under this situation, Monic has technically violated federal copyright law.
2) Yes. Though educators have a right under the "fair use doctrine" to make limited use of copyrighted materials, Monic violated the law when she made photocopies of an entire article and distributed them to her students.
3) No. Monic has acted within the fair use doctrine.
4) No, as up to 50 photocopies of articles are always permissible.

Answer 1

Monic has violated copyright law by making photocopies of an entire article and distributing them to her students.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct answer is option 2) Yes. Though educators have a right under the 'fair use doctrine' to make limited use of copyrighted materials, Monic violated the law when she made photocopies of an entire article and distributed them to her students.

Under the 'fair use doctrine,' educators are allowed to make limited use of copyrighted materials for the purpose of teaching. However, making photocopies of an entire article and distributing them to students would likely exceed the boundaries of fair use. Monic's actions would be considered a violation of federal copyright law.

It's important to note that fair use typically allows for the use of small portions of a work, such as excerpts or snippets, and not the entire work.