Fair Use allows for limited use of material under copyright without permission for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple classroom copies), scholarship, and research.
Fair Use is determined by four factors:
- purpose and character of the use
- nature of the copyrighted work
- amount and substantiality used
- effect on potential market or value
Educational use does not automatically equal Fair Use.
Use Fair Use Checklist to determine whether your use weighs more in favor or against fair use. This checklist was created by Kenneth D. Crews (formerly of Columbia University) and Dwayne K. Buttler (University of Louisville) and may be used under Creative Commons Attribution License.
Points to consider:
- purpose and character of the use – most educational use favors fair use, don’t forget to give credit to the original author
- nature of the copyrighted work – a published, nonfiction/factual work counts more in favor than a highly creative and/or fictional work
- amount and substantiality used – the often heard 10% of the work is not a legal standard. Only a small portion of the work should be used and this portion should not be the most significant part. Example: If a book with essays is particularly famous/bestselling for one particular essay, using that specific essay might be a factor against fair use.
- effect on potential market or value – will the use affect the marketability/sale of the original work. Putting a link in Canvas where only a limited number of students can access it speaks more favorably than putting the link on the department website. Making copies of an article to distribute in class one time (maybe time sensitive material with no time to request permission) speaks more favorably than using the same article every semester.
- Linking is usually better than embedding. Make sure to use a permalink/stable link when provided.
