Integrating Fair Use into Information Literacy: Perspectives from The Georgia State University eReserves and HathiTrust Copyright Infringement Cases

A working knowledge of fair use is an integral part of information literacy because it empowers the student to use the works of others within legal and ethical bounds. Fair use in U.S. Copyright Law allows people to legally use the creative works of others without asking permission from the copyright owner under certain circumstances. But because fair use is a balancing test of four factors rather than bright line rules, it is not well defined and it ultimately takes a court to determine what is, and is not fair use. In the landmark Georgia State University eReserves case, the North Georgia District Court, considering the case on remand from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, recently again ruled in favor of GSU, affirming its practice of fair use. In this session, librarians from GSU and UGA will give an overview of the case, discuss common themes about what courts look for to determine fair use, and what we have learned about fair use from the GSU and HathiTrust cases. This will inform a discussion on how fair use can be integrated into the “Information has Value” frame within the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy to help students and faculty understand its importance in using the work of others