Fair Use Week
We’re pleased to share information on how the fair use exception and exclusive rights under copyright work together to promote the progress of creative expression. Check out our video series and blogs to learn more about the fair use exception.
Copybites Video 1 | The Fair Use Doctrine
Fair use is a limitation on the exclusive rights in copyright for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research.
The overall intent of the fair use doctrine is the protection of free speech, but it also allows flexibility in the law in order to fulfill copyright’s purpose to promote the progress of creative expression.
Copybites Video 2 | Fair Use Factors One and Two
Four factors must be considered in order to determine whether a particular use of a copyrighted work qualifies as a fair use under the law. Each factor is weighed on a case-by-case basis, and will either favor or disfavor a finding of fair use.
Knowing something about the four factors can help even non-attorneys make reasonable fair use assessments.
Copybites Video 3 | Fair Use Factor Three and Four
Four factors must be weighed on a case-by-case basis to determine whether a particular use of a copyrighted work qualifies as a fair use under the law. In Video 2 of this series, we discussed the first two factors—the purpose and character of the use, and the nature of the copyrighted work.
Copybites Video 4 | Some Common Fair Use Mistakes
It is possible to make a fair use assessment without an attorney. But there are a few common mistakes to avoid. And the first is to be wary of any rhetoric that makes fair use sound like a universal right rather than what it is — a specific and conditional limitation on copyright.
Copybites Video 5 | Applying Fair Use Today
With the growth of social media platforms, it’s fairly common to inadvertently infringe someone’s copyright under the mistaken belief that certain uses are fair uses. Unfortunately, this perception is aggravated by a lot of misleading public debate about fair use, which can actually get some well-meaning creators into legal trouble.
Fair Use Blogs
- Top 5 Fair Use Myths on Social Media by David Ward
- Fair Use Week: A Salute (of sorts) to Lenz v. UMG by David Newhoff
- Google’s Fair Use Defense Fails Under Factor 4 Scrutiny by Tim Rivenburg
- Exporting the US “Fair Use” Doctrine to South Africa: The Battle Lines are Drawn by Hugh Stephens
- Factors 2 and 3 Weigh Against Google’s Fair Use Defense by Tim Rivenburg
- Amici Explain Why Google’s Copying of Oracle’s APIs is Not Fair Use by Tim Rivenburg
- A Welcome Return to Sensible Fair Use Determinations by Ross Broudy
- Copyright Enforcement in the Arts Gets Aid From New CASE Act by Ryan W. Morris
- Fair Use Week Again. But Why? by David Newhoff
- The Pendulum of Transformativeness and The Zen of Copyright Repair: Judge Pierre Leval and Jon Baumgarten Discuss Fair Use by Neil Turkewitz
- Copyright Review in Canada: Will Fair Dealing Be Widened Further, Tightened or Left As Is? by Hugh Stephens
- Happy Idea/Expression Dichotomy Week! by David Newhoff
- Why this Copyright Blogger likes Fair Use and Fair Dealing by Hugh Stephens
- Toward Another Fair Use Standard by Terry Hart
- All’s Not Fair in Love and War by Neil Turkewitz
- The Truth About Fair Use by Terrica Carrington
- Fair Use, Not Free Use by Johannes Munter
- Fair Use & The Case Act by David Newhoff
- Fairness to Whom? Reimagining a New Paradigm for Considering Fair Use by Neil Turkewitz
Exploring the Bounds of Fair Use
- Case 1 | Google v. Oracle
- Case 2 | Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith
- Case 3 | KinderGuides
- Case 4 | Hosseinzadeh v. Klein
- Case 5 | Fox News v. TVEyes
- Case 6 | Public.Resource.Org
- Case 7 | Dr. Seuss