Copyright Use Tutorial: NCSU Libraries

Fair Use Factors

Factor One: The Purpose and Character of the Use

This factor generally weighs in favor of fair use for nonprofit educational uses as opposed to commercial uses. Most uses at the university can probably be characterized as nonprofit educational uses. But educational use alone does not automatically result in a finding of fair use just as a commercial use is not always an infringing one. A nonprofit, educational use would likely result in this factor favoring a finding of fair use, but remember that the other three factors must also be considered.

Additionally, this factor is more likely to weigh in favor of fair use if your use is transformative rather than verbatim copying.

Note: Educational Use Alone is Not Enough to Constitute Fair Use

Factor Two: The Nature of the Copyrighted Work

This factor generally weighs in favor of fair use if the work to be used is factual in nature (scholarly, technical, scientific) rather than works involving more creative expression such as plays, poems, fictional works, photographs, paintings and such. The case for fair use becomes even stronger when there are only a few ways to express the ideas or facts contained in a factual work. The line between unprotected "facts and ideas," on the one hand, and protected "expression" on the other, is often difficult to draw. If there is only one way or very few ways to express a fact or an idea, the expression is said to have merged into the fact/idea, and there is no copyright protection for the expression.