Can I make photocopies of my textbook?

I attend a university where the books store is awaiting the shipment of textbooks. Someone in my class made copies from the teachers' textbook. Once the teacher discovered this, he/she was outraged stating that was against the law.Can I make photocopies of my textbook?
Have a look at the bottom of pages or in the beginning or end of the textbook. There is usually a notification saying something like: "this textbook may [or may not] be photocopied without permission". There may also be things that say: "10% of this textbook may be reproduced without permission".Can I make photocopies of my textbook?
It is OK if you fall within the fair use guidelines. The doctrine of fair use has developed through a substantial number of court decisions over the years and has been codified in section 107 of the copyright law.



Section 107 contains a list of the various purposes for which the reproduction of a particular work may be considered fair, such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Section 107 also sets out four factors to be considered in determining whether or not a particular use is fair:



The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes

The nature of the copyrighted work

The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole

The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work

The distinction between fair use and infringement may be unclear and not easily defined. There is no specific number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be taken without permission.



Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission.



The 1961 Report of the Register of Copyrights on the General Revision of the U.S. Copyright Law cites examples of activities that courts have regarded as fair use: “quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment; quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work, for illustration or clarification of the author’s observations; use in a parody of some of the content of the work parodied; summary of an address or article, with brief quotations, in a news report; reproduction by a library of a portion of a work to replace part of a damaged copy; reproduction by a teacher or student of a small part of a work to illustrate a lesson; reproduction of a work in legislative or judicial proceedings or reports; incidental and fortuitous reproduction, in a newsreel or broadcast, of a work located in the scene of an event being reported.”



Generally fair use will allows small portions of a work to be copied, such as single chapters, single articles from a journal issue, several charts, graphs or illustrations, other similarly small parts of a work.



If you photocopied the entire textbook that is certainly not allowed and could be punishable under copyright laws.



By the way, why are you buying textbooks from the student bookstore? You are most certainly overpaying. See the attached article for tips on how to save money on textbooks. You'll avoid violating copyright laws and save some cash. Good luck.