"Fair Use Doctrine has developed through a substantial number of court decisions over the years. This doctrine has been codified in section 107 of the copyright law."
U.S. Copyright Office
Fair Use Factors:
The Fair Use doctrine recognizes the need to permit reasonable public access to copyrighted works in order to aid the advancement of knowledge. It allows for limited use of copyrighted works without the need to obtain permission from the owner. The use should be accompanied with commentary - scholarly, educational, historical, and/or critical. It should be brief and noncommercial and proper credit and notice should always be given.
In order to determine whether an intended use of a copyrighted work is a fair use consider these four factors.
1) Purpose and Character of the Use
Is the use for a commercial or noncommercial purpose?
If the purpose is educational is the copied work to be accompanied by original commentary?
2) Nature of the Copyrighted Work
Is the copyrighted work informational or creative?
Is the copyrighted work educational or entertainment?
Is the copyrighted work published or unpublished?
3) Amount and Substantiality of the Portion Used
Is the copied amount the "heart of the work"?
Is the copied amount a substantial percentage of the whole work?
4) Effect Upon the Potential Market or Value of the Copyrighted Work
Will the copying interfere with marketability of the original work?
To do your analysis, print and complete the Checklist for Fair Use (PDF | Word Document - requires document download).
Do this analysis each time you want to determine fair use of a work. Contact the University Copyright Agent if you have any questions regarding the overall analysis and use of the checklist. Complete a checklist , sign, date, and attach a copy of it to the material analyzed for fair use in order to document that you are acting in good faith.
