The doctrine of "fair use" provides that copyrighted materials may be used in certain ways, for certain purposes, without infringement upon the copyright owner's rights, even if his or her permission is not obtained. The law recognizes this concept explicitly and defines four issues that must be considered in specific cases in order to determine whether or not the use in question is "fair." As Congress itself recognized, however, the principle of fair use is so broad that the law cannot define specific practices, which it would permit.
Generally speaking, the fair use provision allows copying without permission from, or payment to, the copyright owner where the use is reasonable and not harmful to the rights of the copyright owner. The statute specifically states that multiple copying for classroom use may fall within the category of fair use copying. The statutory criteria for deciding fair use are:
1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2. The nature of the copyrighted work;
3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole, and;
4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. |
