What is Fair Use?

Fair use is a legal doctrine in copyright law that allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder under certain circumstances. It is intended to balance the rights of creators with the public’s interest in education, commentary, criticism, and creative expression.

Fair use is commonly applied in situations such as criticism, commentary, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. For example, a reviewer may include short excerpts of a song in a critique, or an educator may use portions of copyrighted material for instructional purposes.

Courts typically evaluate fair use based on several factors, including the purpose of the use, the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount of the material used, and the effect of the use on the market value of the original work. Because these factors are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, determining fair use often depends on the specific context of how the material is used.