CSUF: Henry Madden Library

Fair UseFair Use

As one of the limitations on a copyright owner's exclusive rights, fair use allows limited use of copyright material without requiring permission from the rights holders. Congress purposefully created a flexible fair-use statute that gives no exact parameters: fair use depends on the circumstances of each case.
In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include:
  • (1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit 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 for or value of the copyrighted work.
The distinction between "fair use" of a copyrighted work and infringement can be unclear and not easily defined. There is no specific number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be taken without permission. Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission if permission is necessary.
The 1961 Report of the Register of Copyrights on the General Revision of the U.S. Copyright Law cites examples of activities that courts have regarded as fair use: "quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment; quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work, for illustration or clarification of the author's observations; use in a parody of some of the content of the work parodied; summary of an address or article, with brief quotations, in a news report; reproduction by a library of a portion of a work to replace part of a damaged copy; reproduction by a teacher or student of a small part of a work to illustrate a lesson; reproduction of a work in legislative or judicial proceedings or reports; incidental and fortuitous reproduction, in a newsreel or broadcast, of a work located in the scene of an event being reported."

The Copyright Management Center at indiana University/Purdue University Indianapolis provides a Checklist for Fair Use that can assist professors in their documenting how their use of copyrighted work may be covered by fair use guidelines.