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8.1.2: Fair use

  • Page ID
    261530
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    Can resources ever be reused or adapted without the copyright owner’s permission? In certain cases, yes; this is called Fair Use. Fair Use of a work is usually allowed if it is being used for purposes of “criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research” (U.S. Copyright Office). Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act helps to identify Fair Use based on the following criteria, among others:

    • Purpose and character of the use, including whether the use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes
    • Nature of the copyrighted work … and the degree to which the work that was used relates to copyright’s purpose of encouraging creative expression
    • Amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
    • Effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work (ibid.).

    Even when you are reasonably sure that you are making fair use of a work, you should still cite the source.


    This page titled 8.1.2: Fair use is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Sarah Klein.

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