The copyright policy of the Claremont Colleges affirms each institution’s commitment to comply with the United States law pertaining to copyright; to respect faithfully the property rights of authors and their assignees; to educate members of the campus community about copyright law; and to exercise vigorously the rights and responsibilities granted under this law.
Therefore this policy encourages all members of each campus community to publish their papers, books, and other works in order to share their knowledge openly with colleagues and the public. The policy adheres to the long-standing academic tradition that creators of works own the copyrights in works resulting from their scholarly, pedagogical, and creative activities. This principle is the foundation for our policy on copyright.
This principle also underlies the commitment of the Claremont Colleges to fostering an environment of respect for and responsible use of the intellectual property of others. The Claremont Colleges are committed to helping members of the community comply with copyright laws by providing resources to help individuals make informed, careful, and situation-sensitive decisions about the lawful and fair use of work created by others.
This policy affirms that the primary purpose of copyright legislation is to foster the creation and dissemination of intellectual works for the public welfare. The doctrine of fair use evolved from a recognition that the public should be allowed a limited use of copyrighted materials in a socially beneficial manner without the rights holder’s permission. Further fair use is intrinsically aligned with the notion that education deserves preferential treatment and should not be unduly inhibited.
At the essence of the Copyright Act is the fact that when you are considering the copying of any original work, you need to determine whether:
- the work is protected by copyright,
- the work is available under a license agreement, or
- whether the intended use qualifies as fair use, as determined using a case-by-case Fair Use Analysis.
If the intended use is not fair use, then seek permission from the copyright owner.
Read the full Claremont Copyright Policy
Read Frequently Asked Questions
Acknowledgments: Thank you to those institutions whose copyright information helped inform and in some cases provide the content for this site, in particular: Cornell University. Carleton College, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis and Grinnell College, and a special thank you for the assistance of our consultant Mary Minow.