Fair Use Simply Explained
U.S. copyright law contains a provision that allows limited
use of copyrighted works without the permission of the owner
for certain teaching and research purposes.
These questions are designed to help you determine whether
you may qualify to use the material under
the "Fair Use" doctrine
Question #1. What is the purpose of your use of the
copyrighted work?
| Go on to Question #2 if you are using the material for
educational purposes. If you are using the material for
commercial purposes, you must stop! Read
more. . . . |
Question #2. What is the nature of the copyrighted
work?
| Is the work fact-based? Is it creative? If the work
is fact-based, you can use it freely. If it is creative,
go on to Question #3. Read
more. . . . |
Question #3. How much of the original work are you
going to use?
| You are only allowed to use a small amount of an original
work. Go on to Question #4 if you are only using a small
amount of the original. Read
more. . . . |
Question #4. Will you harm the market for this product
by using this material?
| Meaning, will the author/publisher/anyone else lose
money if you use the material? Read
more. . . . |
To help determine whether you can fairly use a particular
copyrighted work in your teaching, take
our fun test!
For some guidelines on what teachers and university faculty
members can and cannot copy, click
here. |
