Registering her copyright is another matter. Before Jane could take infringement action against Mary who copied Jane s instructions and distributed them to members of her guild at no charge, Jane must register her copyright with The Library of Congress. People often assume you may give away the work of another, as long as you do not make a profit. The design belongs to Jane and no one can give it away to others without her permission. Quoting directly from copyright literature, we learn when we can use the copyrighted work of another without permission.
Teaching brings forth the most controversy.
Copying the hand-outs of another and teaching that person's class it to another group and distributing the copied materials to a new group of students violates the owner's copyright. Copyright law explains that classroom teaching exemption applies to nonprofit educational institutions such as primary schools, high schools, colleges and universities. Guilds, seminars, conventions, may have non-profit status but are not defined as nonprofit institutions of learning. The copyright handbook makes this distinction clear. The same teacher may not use the same reprint to teach in a local shop or seminar.