LibGuides: Copyright Guide: Fair Use

Fair Use

What is Fair Use?

Reproduction of any copyrighted material must fall within the limits set under the “Fair Use” guidelines. “Fair Use” allows for a portion of a work to be used without permission from the author for purposes of teaching, research, news reporting, scholarship, and/or criticism. Section 107 calls for consideration of the following four factors in evaluating a question of fair use:

The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for non-profit educational purposes.
The nature of the copyrighted work.
The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use.

*** Know Your Copy Rights (pdf) ***
Offers tips on when works can be used lawfully in teaching without requesting permission or incurring additional cost.
Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries
Creative Commons
Find content you can share, use and remix.
Exceptions for Instructors in U.S. Copyright Law
"The U.S. Copyright Code provides for the educational use of copyrighted material without the permission of the copyright holder under certain conditions. To find out if your intended use meets the requirements set out in the law, use this free, online tool." -- American Library Association
Fair Use Checklist
Checklist from the Copyright Advisory Services at Columbia University.
Fair Use Evaluator
"The Fair Use Evaluator is an online tool that can help users understand how to determine if the use of a protected work is a “fair use.” It helps users collect, organize, and document the information they may need to support a fair use claim, and provides a time-stamped PDF document for the users’ records." --Source: ALA.org
Fair Use Fundamentals Infographic
This Fair Use Fundamentals infographic explains what fair use is, why it is important, who uses fair use, and provides some examples of fair use.
Public Domain Slider
The Public Domain slider is a tool to help determine the copyright status of a work that is first published in the United States.
Section 108 Spinner
Section 108 of the U.S. Copyright Code allows libraries & archives, under certain circumstances, to make reproductions of copyrighted materials without the permission of the copyright holder. This simple tool can help you determine whether or not a particular reproduction is covered by this exemption.

Fair Use for Media

Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video
Provides a set of best practices that helps creators, online providers, copyright holders, and others interested in the making of online video interpret the copyright doctrine of fair use.
Society for Cinema and Media Studies’ Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use in Teaching for Film and Media Educators
This code of best practices in fair use in teaching for film/media educators was designed by The Society for Cinema and Media Studies. It deals with classroom screenings, broadcasts, and derivative works. Source: School of Communication, American University, Washington, DC
Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education

Fair Use for Still Images

Statement on the Fair Use of Images for Teaching, Research, and Study
"This Statement on the Fair Use of Images for
Teaching, Research, and Study describes six uses of copyrighted still images that the Visual Resources Association (vraweb.org) believes fall within the U.S. doctrine of fair use."-- Visual Resources Association.

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Fair Use

Fair Use for Media

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