Here's
how it works:
With
a particular use in mind, read each question and the
comments about it.
Answer each question about your use, see how the balance
tips with each answer.
Make a judgment about the final balance: overall does
the balance tip in favor of fair use or in favor of
getting permission?
FACTOR
1: What is the purpose or character of the use?
Favoring Fair
Use
- Teaching (including
multiple copies for classroom use)
- Research
- Scholarship
- Nonprofit
Educational Institution
- Criticism
- Comment
- News Reporting
- Transformative
or Productive use (changes the work for
a new utility)
- Restricted
access (to students or other appropriate
group)
- Parody
|
Opposing Fair
Use
- Commercial
activity
- Profiting
from the use
- Entertainment
- Bad-faith
behavior
- Denying credit
to original author
|
FACTOR 2:
What is the nature of the work to be used?
Favoring Fair
Use
- Published
work
- Factual or
nonfiction based
- Important
to favored educational objectives
|
Opposing Fair
Use
- Unpublished
work
- Highly creative
work (art, music, novels, films, plays)
- Fiction
|
FACTOR 3:
What amount of the work will you use?
Favoring Fair
Use
- Small quantity
- Portion used
is not central or significant entire work
- Amount is
appropriate for favored educational purpose
|
Opposing Fair
Use
- Large portion
or whole work used
- Portion used
is central to work or "heart of the
work"
|
For
example:
a nonprofit educational institution
may copy an entire article from a journal for students
in a class as a fair use; but a commercial copyshop
would need permission for the same copying.
Similarly, commercial publishers have stringent limitations
on the length of quotations, while a student writing
a paper for a class assignment could reasonably expect
to include lengthier portions.
FACTOR 4:
If this kind of use were widespread, what effect would
it have on the market for the original or for permissions?
Favoring Fair
Use
- User owns
lawfully acquired or purchased copy of original
work
- One or few
copies made
- No significant
effect on the market or potential market
for copyrighted work
- No similar
product marketed by the copyright holder
- Lack of licensing
mechanism
|
Opposing Fair
Use
- Could replace
sale of copyrighted work
- Significantly
impairs market of potential market for copyrighted
work or derivative
- Reasonably
available licensing mechanism for use of
copyrighted work
- Affordable
permission available for using work
- Numerous copies
made
- You made it
accessible on Web or in other public forum
- Repeated or
long term use
|
A
special note about copyrights:
The presence or absence of a copyright notice no longer
carries the significance it once did because the law
no longer requires a notice. Older works published
without a notice may be in the public domain, but
for works created after March 1, 1989, absence of
a notice means virtually nothing.
(This
Four Factor Fair Use Test is used by permission based
on a document developed by Kenneth D. Crews.
Mr. Crews prepared this document as a service of the
Copyright Management Center of Indiana University.
http://www.iupui.edu/copyinfo)
Website for more information about Copyrights and
Fair Use
