Fair Use is one of the most important exceptions to copyright law, especially for students and educators. Under the Fair Use rule of copyright law, someone may use part of another author’s work without asking permission. However, “fair use” is not defined by statute and is therefore wide open to interpretation. Fair use is typically invoked for:<br /><br /> Criticism or commentary<br /> News reporting<br /> Teaching<br /> Scholarship and research<br /> Allowing others' individual creativity to flourish<br /><br />In using part of someone else's work, invoking fair use becomes a good-faith assertion on your part. How much of someone else's work is really only "fair" when a judge says it is in a legal decision. You don't want to be sued for infringement just to find out your use was legally fair, so be careful how you use others' work. Keep in mind that "educational use" alone does not make use of a work fair. Analyze how you are going use a particular work against the following four factors of fair use. Here is what the law says:<br /><br />Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include—<br /><br />(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;<br /><br />(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;<br /><br />(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and<br /><br />(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.<br />
