Copyright for Educators: Fair Use

The Fair Use Doctrine is outlined in U.S. copyright law, Title 17, section 107. It recognizes that certain uses of copyright protected works do not require permission from the copyright holder for use.

In academic settings, fair use allows for the use of copyrighted materials for teaching and research. The fair use doctrine is broad and flexible; however, there are still limitations and judgments must be made in determining if use of a copyrighted work falls under fair use.

The fair use doctrine of U.S. copyright law lists the following four factors to be used in determining if use of a copyrighted work falls under fair use:

1. The purpose of the use (educational vs. commercial)
2. The nature of the copyrighted work
3. The amount of the material used (Less is more! Greater use/copies = more likely to not be fair use)
4. The effect of use on the potential market for or value of the work