Copyright: Resources

What is "Fair Use"?:  The doctrine that brief excerpts of copyright material may, under certain circumstances, be quoted verbatim for purposes such as criticism, news reporting, teaching and research, without the need for permission from or payment to the copyright holder

The four factors to determine fair use, found in section 107 of the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C., are as follows:

1.  The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for non-profit 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 or value of the copyrighted work.