Fair Use Week

Today marks the beginning of Fair Use/Fair Dealing Week, an annual celebration coordinated by the Association of Research Libraries that serves to educate the community about the limitations and exceptions to copyright.

Fair use is the right to use copyrighted work without the owner’s permission as long as its use passes a specified set of standards.  These standards aim to allow for the ability to build upon prior work while still protecting the rights of the copyright holder.

To judge if your use of a copyrighted work is fair, you must consider:

·         Purpose and character of your use

o   Is your use commercial or non-profit?

§  Non-profit use is more likely to be considered fair

o   Is your use educational?

o   Is your use transformative?

§  Are you making a new contribution through your use of the copyrighted work?

o   Will society benefit from your use of the work?

·         Nature of the copyrighted work

o   Is the copyrighted work creative or fact-based?

§  Copyright generally protects expression rather than ideas or facts, making it easier to argue for fair use of a fact-based work

o   Is the copyrighted work published or unpublished?

§  If the creator of the work did not want it to be public, it is more difficult for you to argue for fair use

·         Amount and substantiality of the portion used

o   What fraction of the total work are you using? The smaller the amount used, the better.

o   Are you using what would be considered the “heart” of the work?

·         Effect of the use upon the potential market or value of the copyrighted work

o   Will your use harm sales for the owner of the copyrighted work?

All four of these factors should be considered when determining fair use, but that does not mean that if one factor weighs against fair use that the use of the copyrighted work is decidedly not fair.  Try to look at all of the factors together as you come to a conclusion; some are more important than others, such as the purpose of your use.  And be sure to look to previous cases as an example. 

For more background on fair use, check out this blog post by Kenneth Crews, a copyright scholar and librarian, who explains the basics and evolution of fair use.  ARL has also created a helpful infographic covering the fundamentals of fair use here.  For a more thorough explanation fair use and copyright law, visit https://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html.  

If you have any questions regarding copyright and fair use, please feel free to contact the Schwerdtfeger Library at library@ssec.wisc.edu or stop by room 317.