Copyright

"Fair use is an affirmative defense that can be raised in response to claims by a copyright owner that a person is infringing a copyright. Fair use permits a party to use a copyrighted work without the copyright owner’s permission for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research. These purposes only illustrate what might be considered as fair use and are not examples of what will always be considered as fair use"(Copyright Alliance, 2025).

Reference: Copyright Alliance. (2025). What is fair use. https://copyrightalliance.org/faqs/what-is-fair-use/

Rather than a right to use copyrighted material, fair use is a legal defense against copyright infringement allegations.

It is not always straightforward, and guidelines for fair use must be examined carefully before proceeding to use copyrighted works. The goal is to not have to defend yourself in court.

See the resources below for more details:

The Four Factors Test is a widely used guide to considering whether a particular use can be defended as "fair use."

Consider these four factors when trying to determine if the work can be used without obtaining permission from the author:

ONE

The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit, educational purposes.

• If the use is intended to derive financial benefit for the user, fair use is unlikely to be indicated.

TWO

The nature of the copyrighted work.

• Factual works are more likely to fall under fair use than creative works.

THREE

The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyright protected work as a whole.

• The smaller the percentage of the work used, fair use may be more indicated.

• However, if even a small percentage that represents "the heart of the work" is used, fair use may be less likely to be indicated.

FOUR

The effect of the use on the potential market for or value of the copyright protected work.

• If the use means economic loss to the copyright holder (that is, they would sell copies of you weren't making copies) fair use is less likely to be indicated.

WHEN IN DOUBT, ASK FOR PERMISSION.