What is the copyright regulation about how much portion of a book may be copied or scanned?

What is the general copyright regulation about how much portion of a book may be copied or scanned, when the book is borrowed from a library, for example, a university library by its graduate students?

Does the regulation apply just once per loan, or to the total pages for all loans of the same book?

Thanks!

PS: I am asking about the case in U.S..

Tim

• copyright

Comments

• Ashley Nunn: Copyright lending laws will vary by country, and should be easily seatchable if you search for "copyright laws in [COUNTRY]". Even choosing one country to focus on leaves this a very broad question, which is not a good fit here. Is there something specific you wanted to know about US Copyright Laws as they pertain to libraries?
• Tim: @AshleyNunn: As in my post, specific regarding copy or scan of books borrowed from a library, for example, a university library by its graduate students?

Answer by Deborah Mould

The answer varies dependent upon the country. In Australia, it would be 10% of the entire book; no matter if you borrow it 10 times or just the once.

The only exception I can think of is if you were doing this for a person with a disability.

Comments

• Tim: Thanks! (1) I am asking about the case in U.S.. (2) In Australia, " it would be 10% of the entire book; no matter if you borrow it 10 times or just the once." Do you mean 10% is the total pages that can be copied or scanned by the same single person over all the loans?

Answer by dsalo

You're going to hate this answer, but it's the true one: there is no bright-line guideline. US copyright law just doesn't work that way.

Section 108 of the Copyright Act grants libraries certain "superpowers" with respect to copying books for patrons when (and ONLY when) those works are not otherwise available for purchase at a reasonable cost. Additional Section 108 leeway is available with respect to journal articles. See the Section 108 Spinner for additional information.

Section 108 does not, however, cover individuals who copy library materials. While libraries are generally not required to police their photocopiers and scanners as long as they post boilerplate information about copyright near them, that doesn't mean that "I copied it in the library!" is a valid defense for a patron against infringement, because it isn't.

Such patrons, if accused of infringement, might have fair use as an affirmative defense; that would be a matter for the courts.

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