1. They do not have the force of law. To the extent that they reflect the effort of concerned people (educators, writers, and publishers) to achieve mutual understanding, they deserve serious attention, and it is reasonable to believe that practices which are in compliance with the guidelines are not likely to result in suits for infringement of copyright. But following the guidelines does not assure immunity from such suits.
 
2. They define minimum standards.
The guidelines are not intended (as they themselves indicate) to define the most extreme limits of educational fair use;  they are intended to define the most narrow limits.
 
3. Single Copying for Teachers:
A single copy may be made of any of the following by or for a teacher at his/her individual request for his/her scholarly research or use in teaching or preparation to teach a class:
 
          a. A chapter from a book;
          b. An article from a periodical or magazine;
          c. A short story, short essay, or short poem,
              whether or not from a collective work;
          d. A chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon, or
             picture from a book, periodical, or newspaper.

 4. Multiple Copies for Classroom Use:
 
             a. The copying is brief and spontaneous ("brief" - for prose, 1000 words, or 10% of a work, whichever is less, or one chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon, or picture per book or periodical are permitted); ("spontaneous" - the time between the decision to use the work and the moment of its use are so close that it would be unreasonable to expect a timely reply to a request for permission);
 
             b. The copying meets the "cumulative effect test" ("cumulative effect" - the copying is for only one course in the school; not more than one article may be copied from the same author, nor more than three from the same work or periodical volume per term; there shall be not more than nine instances of such multiple copying for one class during the one class term);
 
             c. Each copy includes a notice of copyright (the statement "This handout may have been copied from copyrighted material" should be sufficient.)

5. Prohibitions:
 
             a. There shall be no copying of or from works intended to be consumable in the course of study or of teaching.  These include workbooks, exercises, standardized tests and test booklets, answer sheets, and similar consumable materials. An exception is made in the instance of producing an overhead transparency from a consumable time when the transparency is used by the instructor for classroom assistance and instruction.
 
             b. Copying shall not be repeated with respect to the same item by the same teacher from term to term.
 
             c. No charge shall be made to the student beyond the actual cost of photocopying.