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You are here: Home  Copyright Law Fair Use

Fair Use

The most common defense to allegations of copyright infringement is that the alleged infringer made a "fair use" of the work.  The fair use defense, however, is relatively narrow and much misunderstood by the public.

The owner of a copyright has the right to reproduce or to authorize others to reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords.  The owner's right, however, is subject to the doctrine of  “fair use.”  17 U.S.C. § 107.

Section 107 of the Copyright Act 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:

1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

2. the nature of the copyrighted work;

3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

4. 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 following are examples of activities that courts have found to be fair use: 

1. quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment; 

2. quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work, for illustration or clarification of the author’s observations; 

3. use in a parody of some of the content of the work parodied; 

4. summary of an address or article, with brief quotations, in a news report;

5. reproduction by a library of a portion of a work to replace part of a damaged copy;

6. 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; and

7. incidental and fortuitous reproduction, in a newsreel or broadcast, of a work located in the scene of an event being reported.

This page was last modified on July 22, 2007.

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