Copyright and Fair Use: Fair Use

Fair use is a concept embedded in U.S. law that recognizes that certain uses of copyright-protected works do not require permission from the copyright holder. (See Title 17, section 107)

The following four factors are used to determine if a use is fair:

1. The purpose of the use (eg. commercial vs. educational)*
2. The nature of the copyrighted work
3. The amount of the material used (the greater the amount copied, the less likely it is fair use)
4. The effect of use on the potential market for or value of the work

* Not all uses in an academic context are automatically considered fair use!

The Fair Use Doctrine is probably the most important exemption to copyright protections for educational settings, allowing many uses of copyrighted works for the purposes of teaching and research. It is vitally important that both students and faculty understand the concept of the Fair Use doctrine.

Review these Common Scenarios to help you determine whether or not fair use is appropriate.

• Thinking Through Fair Use: This online tool guides users through the process of determining if a use is fair. Developed by The University of Minnesota Libraries.

• Fair Use Evaluator: helps users collect, organize, and document the information they may need to support a fair use claim, and  provides a time-stamped PDF document for the users’ records. Developed by the American Library Association, Office for Information Technology Policy.