Four Factors Test & Fair Use
What Is Fair Use? || Is the Work Protected? || The Four Factors Test
What is Fair Use?
Fair use follows the belief that copying should be allowed for purpose of criticism, news reporting, teaching and/or scholarly research as stated in http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html Sec. 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use, Title 17. The difficulty of interpreting this portion of the law has given rise to countless papers, decisions, guidelines, rules of thumb, court cases, web sites, tutorials, arguments and conferences with no end in site. The determination of "fair use" is a large part of the impetus behind the creation of this web site.
Is the Work Protected?
Certain types of material may be used freely, i.e., works that lack originality (comprehensive, logical compilations such as the phone book), U. S. government works, freeware, works in the public domain and unoriginal reprints of works in the public domain.
Material in the Public Domain
Judging whether a work is in the public domain and may be used without obtaining copyright permission may be made easier if you use the chart, When Works Pass Into the Public Domain, printed in the Society of American Archivists, Jan/Feb. 1999.
Material not in the Public Domain
If the material is not in the public domain and you wish to exercise one of the copyright owner's exclusive rights as stated in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, you may need to request permission from the copyright owner. Use the Four Factors Fair Use Test below to determine whether or not the use is fair.
Using the Four Factors Fair Use Test
Apply the test found at the University of Texas' Fair Use of Copyrighted Materials site.