Whether filing an application for registration is sufficient to support the initial filing of a claim of infringement is not clear. Some courts have held that an action for infringement cannot be asserted unless the certificate of registration has been issued. A finding of a nonprofit educational purpose does not automatically compel a finding of fair use. The question of how much copyrighting for classroom use is permissible was of major concern to Congress when it enacted the Copyright Act of 1976 and, although it did not include a provision in the Copyright Act on the subject, it did approve a set of guidelines with respect to it. Spontaneity assumes that the copying was made as a result of a decision to use a work so close in time to its need that it would be unreasonable to expect a timely reply to a request for permission.
Cumulative effect requires that the copied material be for only one course.
A small degree of copying can preclude a defense of fair use if the copying is the essential part of the copyrighted work. No more of a work may be copied than is necessary for the particular use. Indeed a viewer might never consider that making copies of digital images would constitute copyright infringement.