A $510,000 federal court ruling against Kinko’s Graphics Corp. for copyright violation is expected to cause delays and higher prices for class “packets” but does not signal extinction for the familiar plastic-bound readings.

U.S. District Judge Constance Baker Motley handed down the decision last week after the Ventura, Calif.-based firm admitted to copying excerpts from books used in college courses without permission.

Kinko’s spokesman Adrianna Foss said the company will comply immediately with the decision, withholding some packets until needed permission is secured from book publishers.

Foss said the delays should not affect NIU or other schools on a semester schedule but could cause problems at schools on quarterly schedules where a new round of classes began this week.

“Our first concern is to get materials to students while complying with the guidelines,” Foss said.

Costs might rise as publishers demand royalty payments for permission.

Foss said she does not know how much material is affected because some packets contain original works by the professors ordering them and others are already copied with permission.

Foss said Kinko’s, with a local location at 901 E. Lucinda Ave., is not the only company affected by the ruling.

The decision redefines the “fair use” clause which allows teachers to copy portions of books and articles for classroom use.

“The ruling tells us fair use cannot be used by commercial establishments for academic use,” Foss said.

Nancy Iehl, manager of Copy Service, Inc., 1005 W. Lincoln Hwy., said the company is examining the case to see if any changes have to be made in its course packets.

“We already have permission for much of the material. Each instance you have to take separately,” she said.