AN INTRODUCTION TO FAIR USE

Fair Use is a limitation on the exclusive rights held by the copyright holder as stated in Section 107 of The United States Copyright Act. Fair use of a copyrighted work permits the work to be used for the purposes of: criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research.

In order to determine if the use of the work is fair, you must weigh the following four factors:

1. Purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2. The nature of the copyrighted work;
3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work.
4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work.

Title 17, The Copyright Act – Section 107

CoDA copyrights are held in trust for CoDA as a whole. The CoDA Board of Trustees has a responsibility to protect these valuable assets both in terms of content and preserving the integrity of the CoDA message. In order to meet this responsibility, CoDA Board of Trustees must ensure that CoDA’s copyrights remain undiminished by infringing activities. Further, as a practical matter, and in order to meet such responsibility, blanket or non‐specific permission is not granted.

Any request that does not fit within the parameters of the below listed conditions and guidelines should be directed to the legal liaison on the CoDA board of Trustees ([email protected]) to obtain a “Request for Permission to Reprint” form.

A. PERSONAL USE

Some uses of CoDA’s copyrighted literature and other copyrighted CoDA materials are considered “fair use” by CoDA, if the following conditions are met:

1. Use must be for non‐fiction commentary, news reporting, parody, summarization or similar. For use in creative/fiction writing, please submit a completed “Request for Permission to Reprint” form.
2. Must not be used for novelty items such as bumper stickers, t‐shirts, mugs, greeting cards, etc. as these types of items tend to trivialize the CoDA program.
3. Use must not be commercial (i.e., not for sale) or used in any type of advertising.
4. Use must be on a one‐time basis only and not replace a sale of the work or diminish the market for, or value of, the work.

Guidelines and Limitations for acceptable use of CoDA Copyrighted Literature and other copyrighted CoDA material:

• Individual printing or photocopying of a single copy or a brief excerpt of CoDA literature and/or CoDA material.
• A single reproduction of a brief excerpt of audio DVDs, CDs, etc. or video works, e.g. film, film clips, public service announcements/PSAs, etc. (up to 10% of the total work or three minutes, whichever is less.)
• Individual printing or photocopying of a brief excerpt of printed CoDA literature and/or CoDA material from the CoDA Web site CoDA.org.
• A single reproduction of a brief excerpt portion of audio DVDs, CDs, etc.or video works, e.g.film, film clips, public service announcements/PSAs, etc. (up to 10% of the total work or three minutes, whichever is less) from the CoDA Web site CoDA.org.
• Saving CoDA literature or other CoDA material on a computer hard drive.
• An entire work of CoDA copyrighted material must not be posted or/uploaded to any website, online discussion boards or any social media formats, whether CoDA or non‐CoDA., without written permission from CoDA board of trustees ([email protected]).

B. EDUCATORS

When Is Permission Required? 

1. When an individual intends to use the material repeatedly.
2. When the material is intended to be used for commercial purposes.
3. When an individual wants to use a work in its entirety.

No permission to reprint need be submitted to CoDA board of trustees if all of the following conditions and guidelines are met:

• Text of CoDA copyrighted literature shall be presented as‐is, with no amendments, changes or editing permitted.
• An educator may make one copy of the following items for purposes of scholarly research, or for use in teaching or preparing to teach a class:

one chapter from a book, one article from a periodical, one short essay, one chart/graph (unless otherwise noted). Copying shall not be used to create, replace, or substitute for anthologies, compilations or collective works.

• An educator may make multiple copies of CoDA material, not to exceed more than one copy per pupil in the course, provided the amount of material copied is sufficiently brief. Each copy should include the following notice of copyright:

This photocopy was reproduced with the permission of Codependents Anonymous, Inc. for inclusion in a course package. Permission to photocopy this material does not mean that CoDA. has reviewed or approved the contents of this course package, or that CoDA necessarily agrees with the views expressed herein.

 4. Educators are permitted to provide web links to CoDA material on the CoDA Website CoDA.org

C. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

 Additional information regarding what material can and cannot be used within the CoDA Fellowship that would not constitute an infringement of CoDA’s copyrighted material is provided in the following Frequently Asked Questions:

Who owns the copyrights to CoDA Conference‐approved literature?

Codependents Anonymous, Inc holds the copyrights of CoDA material in trust for CoDA as a whole.

Do we have to formally request permission to reprint CoDA literature?

As a general rule, no one has the authority to reproduce CoDA Conference‐approved literature without prior written permission from CoDA Board pf Trustees. However, given the nature of our Fellowship, our experience indicates that CoDA groups and entities, and only CoDA groups and entities, should have the authority to reproduce limited amounts of CoDA Conference‐approved material. In no case should this material be amended or modified.

Can we upload a CoDA Conference‐approved book or pamphlet to our local CoDA Web site?

CoDA entities are permitted to provide web links to CoDA Conference‐approved literature on www.CoDA.org instead of uploading.

Can we print a copy of CoDA material from www.CoDA.org?

If the material is in HTML, it can be printed. Some PDFs, including most service material, may also be printed.

Can we include brief excerpts from CoDA material in a mobile app?

Permission to reprint CoDA material must be obtained by contacting the CoDA board of Trustees ([email protected]). Additionally CoDA material should represent only a small segment of material in the entire mobile app.

Can we obtain a license from CoDA to include an entire publication in a mobile app?

No, CoDA does not issue licenses to reproduce its copyrighted material on mobile apps, etc.

Can you give us a few other examples of requests for which CoDA does not grant permission?

CoDA does not grant permission to reprint CoDA material on novelty items such as bumper stickers, t‐ shirts, mugs, greeting cards, etc., as these types of items tend to trivialize the CoDA program.

Can I reprint excerpts on a daily basis from CoDA material and distribute them electronically?

CoDA does not grant permission for anyone to continuously reprint excerpts of CoDA material through the Internet or electronic devices, etc.

Do I need permission to reprint the Serenity Prayer?

As the Serenity Prayer is not copyrighted by CoDA, CoDA cannot grant or deny reprint permission.

Where can I find information regarding the use of CoDA’s trademarks?

On the CoDA Web site, www.CoDA.org, in the section entitled “Fair Use Policy” at this link https://coda.org/wp-content/uploads/Fair-Use-Policy.pdf and see the CoDA Fellowship Service Manual (FSM), Part 1, Section 5 under the section entitled page “CoDA Copyrights and Trademarks.” (FSM, Part 1, Pages 34-35)

Can CoDA entities use pamphlet cover graphics?

Yes, CoDA entities have permission to reprint thumbnail or larger‐sized graphics of CoDA pamphlet covers for CoDA purposes only. Place the copyright symbol © next to the graphic and include the following credit line: The above graphic is [graphics are] used with permission of Codependents Anonymous, Inc.

If your specific concern is not addressed in these CoDA Fair Use Guidelines, you may wish to direct your question to the CoDA Board of Trustees – [email protected].

 Excerpts from the A.A. World Services, Inc. “Content Use Policy” are reprinted with permission.