Honest and Fair and Copyright Law

As Girl Scouts we promise to be "honest and fair" and to "respect...others", and yet many of us are quick to put things on a copy machine or scanner and share them with others, probably believing they are being "friendly and helpful" or "using resources wisely".  What does the law say about sharing?  For the record, I am not a lawyer and I don't give legal advice.  However I have researched this issue and suggest that if you wonder if what you are considering is legal, you do the same.

What Is Subject to Copyright Laws?

If you didn't write it, then assume it is subject to copyright laws.  Even though I didn't send this blog post to the Copyright office, it is mine and you may not pass it off as yours.  I don't have anything on here to keep you from copying it, or printing it, but if I did, and  you bought some software to get around that, you are wrong to use it.  As it is, I encourage you to promulgate this post, just give me credit.  The best way to do that is to push the buttons on the bottom of the post and share through social media. 

If I am selling downloads, as many people do on Teachers Pay Teachers or Etsy, or on the GSUSA website, then if you buy the download you may use it per the license you bought.  Most Teachers Pay Teachers licenses allow you print as many copies as you need for your use; they do not allow you to send the file to me for my group.  If you buy a GSUSA download, it is for your use, not the use of your entire troop--and making copies of that downloaded badge pack for your entire troop is not honest and fair nor does it respect the copyright of GSUSA. 

But What About Educational Use?

Many people have heard of the "Educational Use" exception to copyright law, but few people really understand it.  Educational use allows you to use a small portion of someone else's work for educational purposes; it does not allow you to make your own copies of the work. An example would be a teacher using a paragraph or two from a novel, or even a magazine article or blog post, in class, which is legal, or scanning a whole book, which is not.   

In the same way, Girl Scout leaders are allowed to copy a recipe or two from a cookbook, or instructions for one craft from a craft book, or knot tying instructions from 2-3 pages from the handbook of a group which shall not be named, for use with your troop.  You are not allowed to put the whole cookbook on the copy machine so that each girl gets her own copy of it.  

Isn't Girl Scouts a Non-Profit?

Yes, GSUSA and your local councils are non-profits.  However, they still have expenses to pay, and one of the  ways GSUSA supports itself is by selling program materials.  The Girls Guide to Girl Scouting and the Journey books are copyrighted material designed to be used by one girl.  I'll be the first to say that I think they are overpriced and that GSUSA shot themselves in the foot by their choice of how to publish this version of their program. The binders are too big, too awkward and too expensive. The Journey books are just plain awful.  However, none of those reasons give any of us the right to steal that material from GSUSA, which is what you are doing if you put it on your scanner and make copies for the whole troop.  

But They Cost So Much...and We Use Resources Wisely

Using resources wisely is what Girl Scouts are supposed to do.  However, it doesn't mean we are allowed to steal from other people, and while it sounds harsh, violating copyright laws is stealing--you are using the intellectual property of another person or organization without paying them for it.  

You may not take the "Little Critter" book you borrowed from the library (or bought at the bookstore) and make copies for all the girls.  You may not copy the Journey book you bought or the badge pack you downloaded and distribute it either.

What Can We Copy?

It depends.  You can copy a little bit of just about anything, as long as you give proper attribution.  You can even copy something from the GGGS, but it should be a small part.  Honestly, if you are trying to give your girls the benefit of having the GGGS without paying for it, you are probably doing it wrong.  

If it is freely available on the internet, you are free to copy/print it, unless the webmaster has paywalled it.  If it is paywalled, if you pay for it, you'll be told what you can do with it.

What About Swapping, or Selling My Old Stuff

If you bought paper copies, they are yours to give away if you want, or to sell.  They are not yours to copy. The basic principal is that once you give it to me or sell it to me you no longer have it.  If you copy it for me, then we both have it.  

Follow the Girl Scout Law.