In the field of education, the concept of intellectual property features most commonly under the umbrella of Fair Use. This doctrine in United States copyright law allows limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the rights holder. The concept of Fair Use is ambiguous, causing teachers confusion and perhaps even inadvertent misuse of the privilege.  A general lack of understanding of intellectual property law, public domain, and fair use leaves teachers subject to unintentional copyright infringement.  Budget restraints increasingly back teachers into a corner as they seek inexpensive materials to teach.  For teachers, a clear understanding of intellectual property rights was never more important.  As Lawrence Lessing states in An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube, “We live in a weird time … where ordinary people live against the law … and in a democracy, we ought to be able to do better.” Many teachers, notably veteran teachers, have not received any formal training in intellectual property law, or its practical applications for the classroom.  Teachers are not intentional criminals. "I don't think most teachers willingly ignore copyright issues," says David Ensign, a law professor at the University of Louisville. "But I do think many have the impression that any use of material in education is fair use."

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 presents four factors to be considered in determining whether or not a particular use is fair:

Many resources designed to explain fair use cite its ambiguity.  Confusion is created by the subjectivity of the criteria.  As explained in Stanford University’s "Copyright and Fair Use Overview" #5, "Fair use involves subjective judgments ... often affected by factors such as a judge or jury's personal sense of right or wrong.”  Even the U.S. Copyright Office site states, “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.” If fair use is ambiguous to those who deal with it on a regular basis, how can teachers protect themselves?  The U.S. Copyright Office suggests the use of copyrighted material if permission is possible and not obtained. The site also suggests consulting an attorney. This is not the practical advice a classroom teacher hopes to receive.

Because of advancing technology and the ease with which copyright infringement can occur, more and more materials, curricula, and Internet resources are designed to inform teachers about copyright laws.  In November of 2008, the Center for Social Media published the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use of Media Literacy Education, which is intended to assist teachers in making fair use of copyrighted materials. In an effort to help teachers meet the National Educational Technology Standards, a civil liberties group called the Electronic Frontier Foundation provides an online curriculum aptly entitled, Teaching Copyright.  The Entertainment Software Association has created a site for kindergarten through 5th grade students and teachers called Join the Team.  Adding to the teacher's burden is the difficulty in determining whether or not intellectual property has become a part of the public domain.  There are several factors to consider.  To simply say that a piece of intellectual property is in the public domain after seventy-five years is not accurate.  The state of the property’s copyright, as well as the time passed since its inception, are among the several factors which determine whether a piece of intellectual property has moved to the public domain. 

While there have been few, if any, cases of individual teachers facing litigation due to intellectual property rights infringement, there have been academic institutions embroiled in controversy.  Most involve the conversion of text to digital forms, and online distribution.  According to Tracy Mitrano, Director of Information Technology Policy at Cornell University, the university recently settled with the American Association of Publishers after the association threatened to sue for copyright infringement over the material on Cornell's e-reserves and course information sites.  In 2008, Georgia State University was sued by three publishers claiming they had infringed upon copyrights through their e-reserves, and their digital conversion and distribution of texts by professors. For now, the publishers seek only cessation of the practices, not monetary restitution. Copyright owners typically send a "cease and desist" letter first, threatening litigation, but lawsuits against individual teachers are possible.