• Copyright. image by Blue Moon from Fotolia.com
  
  In general, copyright law protects the original work of authors. The author has the right to register and copyright the work with the Copyright Office and file a lawsuit against any person who infringes upon his copyrighted work. Photocopying is a very popular means of reproducing material. It's commonly used in offices, libraries and schools. In spite of this, the author of the work has exclusive entitlement to reproduce or photocopy his own work. Therefore, under copyright law, there are limitations on the photocopying of copyrighted work.
  
  

Doctrine of Fair Use in Copyright Law

• Under copyright law, the doctrine of fair use allows certain work to be photocopied without infringing upon the author's work. Thus, if you're photocopying copyrighted material with the intent of commenting on the work, reporting news, research, teaching and for purposes of scholarship, there's no infringement. There's no exact boundary between fair use and infringement. However, the law notes certain factors to establish fair use in the reproduction of copyrighted material. Accordingly, if you photocopy a full book and use the copy for commercial gain, the author may have a legitimate infringement lawsuit against you. On the other hand, if the copies are specifically used to teach or illustrate a lesson in a classroom setting, you're protected by the doctrine of fair use.
  
  

Internet Copying

• The limitations and protections under copyright law extend to the use of copyright material on the Internet. Because authors place their work on the Internet for people to view and read, there's no copyright infringement for merely reading the material. Although the work may be copied to your computer, there's an implied license to view the Internet page. Likewise, many Internet browsers create another copy of the page to enable the viewer to easily access the site. But it's acceptable under copyright law. Conversely, if you print a copy of the Internet data using the print command, you may be infringing upon the author's work; it depends on how you use the printed document. If you save a copy of the Internet document to your hard disk, you may be infringing on someone's work.
  
  

Photocopying Authorization in Libraries

• library books image by Daughterson from Fotolia.com
  
  Librarians may reproduce copies of original work under certain limitations. The copies must include a notification of the copyright, and it must be shown on the original work. Furthermore, library copies may not be used for commercial gain. Therefore, copyright law gives libraries some flexibility for photocopying. If you request library copies of an article or a periodical, the library must convey all warnings that are in the publication. The librarian may make printed copies, scanned copies and electronic copies. When the librarian distributes the copies to you, the copies become your property.