LibGuides: Copyright and Fair Use: Fair Use

Free Speech, Copyright and, Fair Use

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Fair Use

U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index Welcome to the U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index. This Fair Use Index is a project undertaken by the Office of the Register in support of the 2013 Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement of the Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC). Fair use is a longstanding and vital aspect of American copyright law. The goal of the Index is to make the principles and application of fair use more accessible and understandable to the public by presenting a searchable database of court opinions, including by category and type of use (e.g., music, internet/digitization, parody).

Understanding Fair Use

Understanding Fair Use

Fair use is a crucial exception to copyright law that permits limited use of copyrighted material without permission from the rights holder. This guide will help you understand the four key factors that determine fair use:

Purpose and Character of Use: Is the use transformative, educational, or commercial?
Nature of the Copyrighted Work: Is the work factual or creative?
Amount and Substantiality: How much of the work is being used?
Effect on the Market: Does the use impact the market value of the original work?

How to Determine if You Are Within Fair Use Guidelines - Amount and Substantiality

The law does not set bright lines or absolute limits on how much of a work may be used to be considered fair use. Generally, the less of a work you use, the more likely it is to fall under fair use.

However, it is important to be aware that this factor considers the quantity of what is used and qualitatively assesses whether the use includes the so-called "heart of the work." Even small portions may exceed fair use if a work's most notable or creative aspects are used.

While using an entire work is less favored under the amount factor, there are many instances in which doing so will still qualify as fair use. If you have a legitimate need to use an entire work- e.g., an image being critiqued in a scholarly presentation- this may be appropriate and permissible for fair use.

Weighing in favor of fair use:

Posting a 30-second clip of a film online for students to critique
Distributing a chapter of a text for class discussion
Displaying an entire painting for the purposes of commentary during a presentation

Weighing against fair use:

Posting an entire film online for students to view
Distributing copies (print or digital) of an entire text for class discussion
Playing audio of an entire symphony performance during a presentation on a subject completely unrelated to music

Helpful Fair Use Resources

Information found in this section quoted from:

Hathcock, A. (n.d.). Research guides: Copyright: applying fair use. Retrieved October 29, 2024, from https://guides.nyu.edu/fairuse

**Please note, these are just guidelines to help ensure that you stay within Fair Use. The courts determine Fair Use.

Applying Fair Use
*In order to balance the interests of the creators of copyrighted works with the public's ability to benefit from those works, copyright law includes the exemption of Fair Use.
*Fair use allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission for purposes such as criticism, parody, news reporting, research and scholarship, and teaching.
However, just because a use is educational does not mean that it automatically qualifies as fair use.
*Copyright law sets forth four factors, all of which must be considered when determining whether a use falls under fair use.

Disclaimer

***Disclaimer: The PBSC Library and its faculty, staff, and administration are not attorneys and cannot interpret the law. This information is provided for educational purposes only and does not substitute for advice from legal counsel.