For legal advice, please contact SUU's General Council.
The Gerald R. Sherratt Library works to serve the learning community of Southern Utah University (SUU) by facilitating knowledge creation, curation, access, transmission, and innovation. As such, the Sherratt Library works to educate and promote lawful use and creation of copyrighted works. Copyright law (17 U.S.C. § 107 & 108) attempts to balance the competing interests of the scholarly and education community with commercial interests to assure responsible copyright behavior. It is critical that faculty, staff, students, and other members of the community are informed about their rights and responsibilities.
The affectionately deemed "Copyright Clause" is outlined in the U.S. Constitution under Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8 and is intended to promote the "progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries."
These exclusive "bundle of rights" include the rights to: make reproductions, prepare derivatives, distribute copies, perform, and display. These rights may be transferred in whole, licensed collectively, or individually. Copyright can only apply if the work is in a FIXED format and displays creativity (i.e. facts, symbols, lists (like recipes), etc. are not copyrightable).
If you have additional questions please refer to the FAQ page, or contact Rosie Liljenquist.
