Examples of Fair Use

Here are a few examples of activities the courts have viewed as fair use:

 

1. Quoted material was used in a book review to illustrate a point or make a comment.

2. Quoted material was used in a scholarly or technical work to illustrate a point or clarify the author’s observations.

3. Copyrighted work was used as a parody or satire in certain instances.

4. An address or article was summarized in a news report, which included brief quotations.

5. A library reproduced a portion of a work that was damaged.

6. A teacher or a student reproduced a small part of a work as part of a lesson plan.

7. Portions of a work were reproduced during legislative or judicial proceedings or reports.

8. A copyright-protected work was inadvertently photographed in a news report.

9. In a specific instance, the verbatim copying of 29 words out of a total of 2,100 was held to be a permitted use.

Examples That Are Not Fair Use

Here are a few examples of activities the courts have viewed as not being fair use:

• Verbatim copying of 300 words out of a total of 200,000 was not fair use because it went to the heart of the copyrighted work.

• The contents of a magazine are not fair use, even though the cover was deemed fair use.

• Copying one minute and 15 seconds from a one hour and 12 minute motion picture was not fair use; it was copyright infringement.

 

(For some interesting legal cases on the fair use topic, see the Resources section of this book.)

Understand Public Domain

Another limitation on the copyright holder’s right to prevent the reproduction of the work is the concept of public domain. Work that has fallen into the public domain is not protected by copyright and can be freely used, copied, published, or exchanged by anyone. Generally, the following works fall into the public domain:

 

1. works created by employees of the federal government, within the scope of their employment, for example, copyright forms, informational government circulars, and IRS forms (however, not all government works fall within public domain)

2. facts and events (however, creative expression of those facts is protected by copyright)

3. works not protected by copyright (see Lesson 1)

4. works published in the United States in 1922 or earlier

5. works that lost their protection due to abandonment, failure of the copyright holders to renew, or where the copyright holders didn’t affix notice to the copyrighted work if it was created before March 1, 1989.

 

It’s important to note that just because a work can be freely obtained from the Internet, the public library, or a magazine doesn’t mean you have the right to freely publish, display, or copy it. (See the Resources section of this book for some public domain resources.)

Avoid Copyright Infringement

To avoid being sued for copyright infringement, or entangled in an unnecessary lawsuit, consider the following:

 

1. Register your copyrightable work with the U.S. Copyright Office. (If it’s important enough to create, it’s important enough to protect.)

2. Prominently place the copyright notice symbol on all work you’ve created.

3. Use a work-made-for-hire agreement whenever you hire an independent contractor to create a work of art or authorship.

4. Assume that if a work isn’t yours, it belongs to someone else.

5. Assume that if it belongs to someone else, you need permission to use it before you use it.

6. Ask for permission, or get a license.

7. When it’s impossible or impracticable to get permission, avoid using the material, unless you are absolutely positive the fair use doctrine applies to your situation.

8. If you use work in the public domain, double check to ensure that it is.

9. Read and understand all legal documents before you sign. (You may be giving away your rights and not know it.)