Skip to Main Content
Stony Brook University

Copyright Guide

Copyright for Interlibrary Loan & Document Delivery

  • Interlibrary loan staff are guided by Title 17 of the U. S. Code and to CONTU guidelines which provide guidance on Sections 107 and 108 of the U. S. Copyright Act.
    • For copies of material requested from issues published in the last five years, only five articles may be requested in a  calendar year from a single title. The sixth article and any following are subject to copyright royalties.
    • It is important that users adhere to the copyright restrictions for material requested through interlibrary loan. Material obtained through interlibrary loan should be used for one's personal research and should not be shared with others or used for profit. Interlibrary loaned material may not be used for course reserves.
  • The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Notices of copyright restrictions are placed in the library where scanning and photocopying is done.
    • Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to provide a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specific conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement.
  • Stony Brook University Libraries reserves the right to refuse a request for material if fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.

Copyright for Reserves

  • All material placed on reserve is at the initiative of the instructor for the non-commercial, educational use of students. All material placed on reserve will be owned or purchased by the SBU Libraries or requesting faculty member.
  • Physical items place on reserve must be original (not photocopies) and must be legally acquired. Examples of items that cannot be placed on reserve include: material obtained through interlibrary loan, consumables such as workbooks or course packs, Instructor Edition copies or Advanced Reader Copies. 
  • Electronic reserves is considered an extension of our traditional print reserves service and will be provided under the guidance of Fair Use and copyright laws.
  • Students will not be charged for access to material on reserve. Authentication through Blackboard will be required for material on electronic reserve.
  • When possible, links to licensed electronic resources will be used for electronic reserves rather than scanned copies.
  • The SBU Libraries will not copy complete books and will follow Fair Use Guidelines in determining the reasonable limit of a request to scan/copy material for reserves. Examples of reasonable limits are a single chapter from a book (no more than 10-15% of the total work) or a single article from a journal issue. 
  • A copyright notice will be included with the material along with appropriate citations.
  • All material placed on reserve is removed at the end of the semester.