The most important exemption to the rights of the copyright holder is fair use. Fair use excuses uses of copyrighted works that ordinarily would be infringement. Uses of works in nonprofit educational institutions are more likely to be fair use than are commercial uses. Although courts have often found educational uses to be fair, not all educational uses are so favored. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill encourages faculty to take full advantage of the fair use exemption, but to follow this policy and established University guidelines, and to consult legal counsel when in doubt about whether a planned use of a copyrighted work is likely to be a fair use.
Fair use permits instructors to use a wide range of copyrighted works to prepare for teaching.
Faculty members may reproduce single copies of copyrighted works such as journal articles and the like to prepare for teaching. Copies of copyrighted works also may be reproduced for distribution to classes under fair use. UNC-CH complies with the Classroom Guidelines. Coursepacks Coursepacks consist of facsimiles of copyrighted articles, book chapters, etc., produced by a faculty member or at the request of a faculty member by a commercial or nonprofit copying service such as the campus bookstore and which are distributed or sold to students for profit or otherwise in lieu of a textbook or other materials. UNC-CH s policy is that production and sale of coursepacks is not fair use and that permissions to copy must be obtained from the copyright holder and royalties must be paid if requested.