Question

Professor Etheridge, a faculty member at Allstate University, wants to require her students to read an article from National Geographic Magazine as part of her course. National Geographic is a well-known magazine that publishes multiple scientific articles in each issue. The article Professor Etheridge wants to use is approximately 15 pages long and is not available in the University Library. So, Professor Etheridge decides to make 20 copies of the article, enough for each one of her students, and provides the article to each student free of charge. Has Professor Etheridge violated copyright law? Why or why not?

Answer 1

Yes

Step-by-step explanation:

The term copyrights simply refer to exclusive rights vested upon someone who is the original creator of a work, usually the copyrights owner.

Remember, we are told that "Professor Etheridge decides to make 20 copies of the [National Geographic Magazine] article". Well, according to the US copyrights office, the term "copies" refers to "material objects, other than phonorecords,....and from which the work can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device."

We are told, "Professor Etheridge decides," note, without permission from National Geographic Magazine "to make 20 copies of the article." Which means she had violated US copyright law.