1.03 Fair Use and Copyright Law

Vocabulary

Vocabulary text version | Open Vocabulary in a new tab

Note: The presentation may take a moment to load.

Fair Use

How long does copyright protection last?

According to the US Copyright Office,

"Fair use is a legal doctrine that promotes freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works in certain circumstances."

Wait…you're saying I can use copyright-protected works? Yes, but note the for certain circumstances where copyrighted works can be used without permission:

1. Teaching
2. News reporting
3. Parody
4. Critical comment

However, even in these situations there are limits. You are only allowed a small portion of the copyrighted work, usually limited to a few sentences, and these sentences must be properly cited. Also, the use of the copyrighted work must not impact the value of the original work.

Some examples of Fair Use:

• Quoting a verse of a song
• A teacher quoting a paragraph for a lesson
• Summarizing a medical article about prostate cancer for a report
• Embedding a small portion of a movie (usually only a few seconds)

The following would not fall under Fair Use:

• Taking a verse from a song and using it in a song that you claim as your original work
• Using the information in an article to create a report without using proper citation (MLA)
• Downloading a song or movie from the Internet
• Copying a recorded TV show from a friend

Collegiate Brands

Collegiate Brands text version | Open Collegiate Brands in a new window

Note: The presentation may take a moment to load.