Fair use is the legal doctrine that promotes freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works in certain circumstances. Section 107 of the Copyright Act uses the following four factors in evaluating the question of fair use.
Factor 1: Purpose and Character of Use
- Ask yourself: "What do I want to do with the materials I plan to copy?
- Work used for education, scholarship, research, news, reporting, criticism, or commentary purposes is allowed.
Factor 2: Nature of the Original Work
- Has it been published or not?
- If it has not been published, there is less likely of a chance of it being considered fair use.
- Is the nature of the work more factual or creative?
- Generally copyright law does not protect general knowledge (facts and data).
Factor 3: Amount and Sustainability of the Portion Used
- Ask yourself: "How much of the work do you plan to use?"
- Use the smallest portion as possible.
- Quality: The amount of works used is proportional to the length of the work.
- Qualitative: Is the portion you want to use considered the "heart " of the work? If it is, it doesn't fall within fair use.
Factor 4: Marketability of the Work
- Is the use of the work affecting a sale the owner or creator would have made otherwise made?
