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ASFC Smart Shop Finds Loophole in Copyright Law

By Michelle Romero
Journalism Student

Thursday, February 08, 2007

With the outrageous prices of textbooks nowadays, it is no wonder Foothill College is seeking to find alternative methods to provide curriculum materials at affordable prices.

Teachers are encouraged to use the ASFC Smart Shop to sell teacher-made textbooks to students from $1-$30 depending on the amount of pages copied. These prices pale in comparison to the Bookstore prices which are often more than $100 per book!

While this is not a new idea, more teachers are utilizing this feature in the 2006-2007 school year and many students have felt the relief.

On the other hand, a large percentage of students are still plagued by high priced textbooks. In fact, the majority of teachers who use this method to provide their class with curriculum are English teachers.

Students majoring in other fields do not notice so much of a change in their wallet as they are still shelling out the big bucks in the Bookstore or struggling in the first few weeks of each quarter, as they fall further and further behind waiting for their books to arrive from online orders at half.com and other low-cost retailers.

Although many students do benefit from this service, it is important to consider one thing—does the prestigious honor code of the college have value? Is that value important to the students when it comes to their own pockets?

It has been preached from class to class beginning with each student’s first quarter to regard the honor code in all written work, being careful to properly site, avoid plagiarism and copyright violations. Therefore, students should be relieved to hear how the "fair use" clause of copyright law allows for this alternative.

The Smart Shop takes precautions not to make itself a target of copyright infringement. A bright orange sign behind the counter reads: “We do not copy books with the copy machine behind the counter. Sorry for the inconvenience caused.”

When asked about one professor's English 1B syllabus which includes several direct copies of excerpts from copyrighted textbooks, employee Kai Sio of the Smart Shop replied, “Some teachers take [material] from the textbook. They give us the copied pages and we copy it.”

Therefore, if the teacher makes the first copy of the original text, the Smart Shop will print it. Several students have seen teachers incorporate pages of original copyrighted text in their course readers. However, there is a loophole in copyright law which allows this.

A “fair use” clause allows teachers to copy materials for class or nonprofit use in accordance with four factors: 1) the purpose and character of the use in regard to whether it is intended for commercial use or nonprofit educational use; 2) the nature of the copyrighted work; 3) the amount of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and 4) the effect of the use upon the potential market of the copyrighted work.

In essence, under the “Fair Use” clause the ASFC Smart Shop can claim they charge students for the price of the paper, not the content. The fact the material is for educational use and is copied by the teachers is also fair.

One flaw in this loophole, however, is how copying several pages, articles, or chapters from copyrighted work, affects the author’s ability to sell product in its campus market. If the necessary pages for class use are provided at $2.00 per packet, the author loses potential revenue from having sold the entire textbook to hundreds of students who need to take the same class.

The issue is for all students and staff to decide. There are several teachers who take the time to pick and choose from an array of material, paraphrase, and cite correctly making for an incredibly cost effective, accessible alternative textbook. Others throw a packet of copies together and call it good.

It should be a priority concern of the college to set standards for teacher and student use of this system to refine its flaws, so that it can ensure its honor is never threatened, and that quality material is never discarded at the expense of hastily made copies created for the sake of saving money alone.

As is, most teachers who use this alternative, use it in conjunction with copyrighted books which the student must also buy. When used properly, it is an excellent opportunity for the college to offer more affordable course materials overall by incorporating this method, and more teachers should participate!