The Fair Use principle is the biggest exception in copyright law. It is based on the belief that people should be able to use portions of copyrighted works for the purposes of commentary, criticism, and contributing to the public good. Unfortunately, the copyright holder and the end user may not always agree as to what constitutes a fair use. Therefore courts use four factors when evaluating fair use cases:
No one factor is enough to support a finding of fair use by itself. Fair use can be highly subjective, and judging whether the balance of the four factors is toward or against fair use can be difficult. When in doubt, consult an expert. Nonetheless, each of these four factors is discussed briefly in the box below.
The first factor is the purpose and character of the use (not the work! That's the second factor).
There are two questions to ask when you think about the purpose and character of the use:
The second factor is the nature of the copyrighted work (not the use! That's the first factor).
There are two questions to ask here, too:
The third factor is the amount and substantiality of the portion taken. Three questions here:
The fourth factor is the effect of the use on the potential market for the work. There are three questions to ask yourself here:
If you do decide to use a copyrighted work under Fair Use, it's recommended that you follow the best practices below: