1. Is your intended use covered by a specific exception to the exclusive rights in the copyright law, such as the one for libraries or for classroom performances and displays?

Are you planning to use this work in the classroom only? The classroom exception is your path to legal use! There are various exceptions and it is probably easiest to ask your Scholarly Communications Librarian if there is an exception waiting in the copyright code for you. 

1. Is there a Creative Commons license attached to the work? If so, can you comply with the terms of the license, or can you find another useful work that is CC-licensed?
2. Is there a library license that governs how the copyrighted material you're accessing through Smith College Libraries can be used? If so, can you comply with the license terms? If you are uncertain, your librarian should be able to help you.

In our academic setting, our use of various works in our scholarship is very often what is referred to as "a transformative use." Scholarship usually entails making commentary, comparisons, critiques, teaching, or scholarship which are all different purposes than the work's original intent—but not always—if a work is meant as an educational material (a textbook or workbook), then using it as a textbook or workbook is obviously not transformative.

These are the first questions you should ask to determine if your use is transformative:

1. Does the copyrighted material help me make my new point?

2. Will it help my readers or viewers get my point?

3. Have I used no more than is needed to make my point? (Is it “just right”?)

If your answer is "yes" to these questions, then your use is likely a fair use. If you answer no, then you can weigh the four factors of fair use and make a determination where your use falls in regard to the four factor doctrine which considers:

1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

2. the nature of the copyrighted work; descriptive/factual or creative?

3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

This is an excellent resource for fair use guidelines in specific fields or domains that can help you understand if fair use applies to your use: Fair Use Library - Center for Media and Social Impact

1. If so, first locate the copyright owner and fully explain your intended use in your permission request.
2. If you do not get a response or the answer is no, reconsider your use of this work to see if you can make a fair use, or consider using another work.

Finding a copyright holder can be tricky (and sometimes impossible—see the Center for Media Studies, Fair Use and Orphan Works). But there are resources that can help:

• U.S. Copyright Office Public Records System

• WATCH Writers Artists and Their Copyright Holders: database of copyright contacts for writers, artists, and prominent figures in other creative fields: and FOB (Firms out of Business)

• The Online Books Page: Copyright Registration and Renewal Records

• Copyright Records, Internet Archive

A final note.  it is always a good idea to ask: Who will care? Some entities are very litigious and others are not, make a final decision that takes what is known on the risk front into account.