Fair Use of Copyrighted Material in a Graduate Medical Education Curriculum: Pushing the Electronic Envelope
Georgia K. Harper JD; University of Texas at Austin; Philip J. Boyer MD; University of Colorado Health Science Center;
Content:
Given the ever-expanding breadth and depth of the medical knowledge base, it is challenging to present a coherent "curriculum" replete with objectives, content, and assessment tools to meet the educational needs of medical students, residents, and fellows. While text books remain a cornerstone of graduate medical education, access to compilations of faculty-vetted, articles, diagrams, and tables can play a key role in presenting a focused yet comprehensive curriculum to trainees. The primary goal of this project was the evaluation of fair use and licensure within the confines of graduate medical education to define the opportunities and limitations in the use of copyrighted material.
Technology:
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Design:
Literature and Web-based resources were reviewed. Consultation was undertaken with education and legal staff at the University of Texas and the University of Colorado.
Results:
While some information and guidance is available about "fair use" of copyrighted and licensed electronic material in undergraduate academic settings, such as regarding "coursepacks," there is minimal guidance regarding the use of such material in the graduate medical education setting. Four factors can be employed to help gauge whether material meets fair use strictures including (1) the character of use (non-profit and educational vs. commercial use), (2) the nature of the work (factual and published vs. imaginative and unpublished), (3) the amount of the work used (small vs. large proportion), and (4) the potential effect on the commercial market for the work (competition with sales of original work). Applying these factors, when using material already owned by or licensed to faculty members or medical school libraries, the use of single articles or chapters or several charts, graphs, or illustrations generally falls within the boundaries of fair use. Ultimately, electronic compilations facilitate access to educational materials to which trainees already have access rights.
Conclusion:
An ever-expanding wealth of reference materials is available in an electronic format and compilations can be made accessible to meet defined educational goals and at the same time comply with fair use and licensing restrictions.
