Understanding Fair Use in the
United States

What is fair use?
•Fair use is part of the United States
Copyright Law- more specifically a
doctrine.
•This doctrine allows for legal use of
copyrighted materials
•Neither citations not owner permission
are necessary for fair use.

How is fair use granted?
1. Amount of work used
2. The effect that the use of copyrighted
material has on the original work
3. Specific use of work
• Fair use is granted on a “case to case”
basis, so all factors are taken into
consideration

What is considered fair use?
• Use of copyrighted material may be considered fair
use if…
[…]for purposes such as
criticism, comment, news
reporting, teaching (including multiple
copies for classroom use), scholarship, or
research, is not an infringement of
copyright”
(Copyright Law of the United States).

Fair use…or plagiarism?
• Fair use is a LEGAL matter and involves the use
of copyrighted material
• Plagiarism involves the use of copyrighted and
non- copyrighted materials.
– If a work is not copyrighted, it can not be
considered for fair use.

American Ideals and fair use
• Fair use complies with Freedom of Speech
because it allows for criticism, comment, and
parody of copyrighted materials.
• Fair use is also usually not granted if the use
of a work is being sold to make a profit or if
the work gives people something they would
usually have to pay for.