Re: pictures in theses

Maryly Snow asked about the fair use of including pictures from various sources in a doctoral dissertation. She is right in noting that fair use may be construed broadly when only a few copies of the final work are made, and they are generally confined to the shelves of the library where the student earned the degree. But once the work is sent to University Microfilms, it is available for sale to the public, and the author actually receives royalty payments (true!). The work is then, for all practical purposes, "published." Fair use starts to shrink, because the "purpose" factor begins to lean the other way.

The other consequence of distributing the work through UMI is that UMI itself now needs to be concerned about copyright. UMI is the party that is actually reproducing and distributing the work, and is therefore committing any infringement. UMI reviews dissertations and returns them to students if they include materials that exceed fair use or that lack permission. UMI often bumps dissertations that include pictures from other sources. Fair use is difficult to apply to pictures; the entire picture is copied, so the "amount" factor can lean heavily against fair use. So when doctoral students submit their dissertation, they should also submit either (1) a letter of permission; or (2) a statement explaining why the copy constitutes fair use or is otherwise allowed.

I wrote a manual back in 1992 for UMI, which was distributed to graduate programs around the country. The manual is a short overview of copyright for the students and their advisors. Additional copies may be available from UMI. Otherwise, the text is accessible through the Association of Research Libraries Gopher: arl.cni.org. If I recall correctly, it is listed under "Information Policy," and then to "Copyright." Happy hunting. Happy reading!

Kenneth Crews
Associate Professor
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis <kcrews[_at_]velcome.iupui.edu> Received on Mon Nov 28 1994 - 20:31:58 GMT