Fair Use

"In U.S. copyright law, an exception to the otherwise exclusive rights of copyright holders to make copies of a copyrighted work. Under the fair use doctrine, copyrighted works may be duplicated for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, and teaching. However, such uses may still constitute copyright infringement if they are clearly commercial and profitoriented rather than educational or scholarly in nature, if the copied work is designed for entertainment rather than edification, if the extent of copying is substantial (a commonly cited rule of thumb is 5 percent of the original content), or if the duplication adversely affects the market for the copyrighted work." - Pfaffenberger, B. (2003). Fair use. In Webster's New World™ Computer Dictionary. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Retrieved November 28, 2023, from https://search.credoreference.com/articles/Qm9va0FydGljbGU6MTU2NTEyNw==?aid=103130 Links to an external site.

There are 4 factors the courts use to determine fair use:

• "The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for not-for-profit educational purposes;

• The nature of the copyrighted work;

• The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

• The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work."

You can use the Texas State Fair Use Checklist Links to an external site. to help you determine if you can use a work under fair use.

Fair Use Mind Map from Credo Reference Links to an external site.