FAIR USE
This material has been reproduced from the U.S. Library of Congress home page, located at
http://www.lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/fls.
One of the rights accorded to the owner of copyright in the
United States is the right to reproduce or to authorize others to
reproduce a work in copies or phonorecords. This right is subject
to certain limitations found in U.S. Code. One of the more
important limitations is the doctrine of fair use.
Although fair use was not mentioned in earlier U.S.
copyright law, the doctrine has developed through a substantial
number of court decisions over the years. This doctrine has been
codified in section 107 of the 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 sets out four factors
to be considered in determining whether or not a particular use
is fair:
The purpose and character of the use, including whether
such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational
purposes;
The nature of the copyrighted work;
The amount and substantiality of the portion used in
relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
The effect of the use upon the potential market for or
value of the copyrighted work.
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. Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material
does not substitute for obtaining permission.
The 1961 Report of the Register of Copyrights on the
General Revision of the U.S. Copyright Law cites examples of
activities that courts have regarded as fair use: quotation of
excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or
comment; quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical
work, for illustration or clarification of the author's
observations; use in a parody of some of the content of the work
parodied; summary of an address or article, with brief
quotations, in a news report; reproduction by a library of a
portion of a work to replace part of a damaged copy; reproduction
by a teacher or student of a small part of a work to illustrate a
lesson; reproduction of a work in legislative or judicial
proceedings or reports; incidental and fortuitous reproduction,
in a newsreel or broadcast, of a work located in the scene of an
event being reported.
Copyright protects the particular way an author has
expressed himself or herself; it does not extend to any ideas,
systems, or factual information conveyed in the work. The safest
course is always to get permission from the copyright owner
before using copyrighted material.
When it is impracticable to obtain permission, use of
copyrighted material should be avoided unless the doctrine of
fair use would clearly apply to the situation.
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