Fair use is a limitation and exception to the exclusive right granted by copyright law to the author of a creative work. In United States copyright law, fair use is a doctrine that permits limited use of copyrighted material without acquiring permission from the rights holders. Examples of fair use include commentary, search engines, criticism, news reporting, research, teaching, library archiving and scholarship. It provides for the legal, unlicensed citation or incorporation of copyrighted material in another author's work under a four-factor balancing test.
The term fair use originated in the United States. A similar principle, fair dealing, exists in some other common law jurisdictions. Civil law jurisdictions have other limitations and exceptions to copyright.
Fair use is one of the Traditional Safety Valves.
Read more about Fair Use: Fair Use Under United States Law, Practical Effect of Fair Use Defense, Fair Use As A Defense, The Economic Benefit of Fair Use, Fair Use and Parody, Fair Use On The Internet, Common Misunderstandings, Influence Internationally
Famous quotes containing the word fair:
“It is time that we start thinking about foundational issues: about our attitudes toward fair trials... Who are the People in a multicultural society?... The victims of discrimination are now organized. Blacks, Jews, gays, women—they will no longer tolerate second-class status. They seek vindication for past grievances in the trials that take place today, the new political trial.”
—George P. Fletcher, U.S. law educator. With Justice for Some, p. 6, Addison-Wesley (1995)