7 Copyright concerns - What is fair use?

Fair Use

Fair Use refers to an individual's right to use copyrighted material in a reasonable manner without consent of the copyright owner. This important limitation to the author's exclusive rights is written into copyright law in order to encourage citizens to fully and openly build upon information to increase the public's knowledge. Copyright law is vague about what exactly constitutes fair use, but there are four factors that one should consider:

• The purpose and character of use
• The nature of the copyrighted work
• The proportion or extent of material used
• The effect on marketability

The effect on marketability is the most important factor of the four. If your work is transformational or offers something new, appeals to a different audience, is for educational purposes and not for profit, it will likely be seen as fair use.

Fair Use Restrictions

• Brevity
• Spontaneity
• Cumulative effect
• Copyright notice
• Permission