Copyright Use Tutorial: NCSU Libraries

Fair Use (Overview)

The purpose of the fair use doctrine is to allow limited use of copyrighted material without requiring prior permission from the copyright holder. The statute lists four factors to be weighed when analyzing the proposed use in order to determine whether it is a fair one. Consideration of all factors is required although all factors do not have to be in favor of a use to make it a fair one.

A fair use analysis is necessarily a fact-driven one. Each unique set of facts regarding a proposed use leads to its own reasoned conclusion. Reasonable individuals may come to different conclusions concerning the same set of facts, but the operative word is "reasonable." If you, as an employee of a nonprofit educational institution, have made a rational and reasonable, fair use determination, you are less likely to be targeted for an infringement lawsuit because of Section 504(c)(2), the "good faith fair use defense" described later in this section.

The four fair use factors are as follows:

The purpose and character of the use, including whether the use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit 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; and
The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work

Purpose of Copyright | Copyright Facts | The First Sale Doctrine | Rights of the Copyright Holder
Limitations on Exclusive Rights: Fair Use -- Performances & Displays -- Library Exemptions
The Internet | Posting Material on the Internet | Musical Works | Who Owns the Copyright to Student Work?
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