Copyright and Fair Use

Copyright and Fair Use Overview

There's no one right answer as to what constitutes a "fair use" of a particular copyrighted work. The answer varies from situation to situation.

A good point to consider is this: Have you made a "good faith" effort to comply with the "fair use" clause of U.S. Copyright Law?

Fair Use: The Four Factors. These are considered in all "fair use" evaluations

• Purpose & character:  Is the the use of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes? 
• Nature of the work: Is the work a creative work or factual content? Creative works (novels, movies, songs, images) are less likely to have their use supported by a claim of "fair use" than a technical or factual work (such as technical papers, or news.) though any use, even "fair use" must give credit to the original work via a citation. 
• Amount and substance: How much of the portion of the work is used in relation to the work as a whole and is it the "heart of the work" used? Think quantity and quality of the work used. A small portion of the work (rule of thumb for a book is 10% or one chapter whichever is more) is more likely to be considered "fair use" except in the case of creative works. 
• Effect of the use: What is the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work?

These four factors are not meant to be exclusive and must be examined together. The statute does not indicate how much weight is to be accorded each factor. Historically the courts have placed the most emphasis on "effect," while the "nature" of the copyrighted work is usually considered to be the least important factor, however this is not always the case as images and videos are more likely to be considered "effected" from a commercial standpoint even if only a portion of the work is used. 

Brother Edmond Drouin Library. (2016, Aug. 08). What is Fair Use? Retrieved Nov. 17, 2020, from Walsh University LibAnswers: https://libanswers.walsh.edu/faq/147368 

Copyright.gov (2020, Nov. 11) More Information on Fair Use. Retrieved Nov. 17, 2020. From Copyright.gov: https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/more-info.html

Disclaimer: Please note that the Copyright Office is unable to provide specific legal advice to individual members of the public about questions of fair use.  See 37 C.F.R. 201.2(a)(3).

Holt Library can help:

• Show you how to find copyright-free resources
• Guide you to accessing library resources, article and ebooks which the library subscribes to and thus is not an infringement of copyright as long as the user is an SCC affiliate.
• Answer general questions about specific use scenarios. Please contact us at library@southwesterncc.edu