A professor has been told by students that it is difficult to obtain reserve materials because of the large number of students enrolled. As an alternative, he scans several journal articles onto the campus network and instructs the students on how to access them so that they may complete the class assignments. Access restrictions can have the greatest influence on tipping the factors in favor of fair use. A problem with making text available on any network is that it can be accessible by readers far beyond the intended audience of students registered in the class. Thus, restrictions on access through passwords or other systems can enable the professor to argue that the purpose is solely to benefit the students and not to provide access for others.
Restrictions can also limit the potential adverse effect on the market for the original.
By limiting the range of users who may find the document, the professor can minimize or eliminate any possibility that someone will retrieve the work from the network instead of purchasing a copy. Some critics of electronic reserves have argued that the educational purpose and the minimal market effects cannot be controlled because the electronic medium allows users to print, download, and transmit copies at little cost or effort and thereby undermine the restricted access. The professor also must watch closely the nature of the material posted on reserves and the amount of material from the original source put on reserves. A professor teaches a course in which she occasionally uses a piece of music, shows a picture, or plays a piece of videotape. But the professor would like to reproduce these short items onto one compact disk in order to prevent their loss or deterioration, keep them organized, and show them in the class by using a single piece of equipment.