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Copyright and Fair Use

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What is Copyright?

The intellectual property law that protects the original work of those who create.

Copyright protects creators’ books, articles, movies, TV shows, music and lyrics, software, artwork, photographs, architecture, blog posts, poetry, podcasts, and plays. Only they have the right to make copies of, distribute, display, and perform their work.

You do not need to register a work to have copyright. It exists as soon as the work is created and fixed in a tangible form.

In the United States, copyright protection generally lasts for 70 years.

Fair Use

The law that allows the rest of us to use parts of original creations without getting sued.

Fair use allows people to use copyrighted material without permission from the creator. The law recognizes that society benefits from reporting, educating, and criticism, using those works. It is meant to balance creators’ rights with freedom of expression, education, and commentary.

Consider these five things to gauge whether you are applying fair use:

1. Purpose: Is it for profit or for educational use?
2. New Outlook: Does it add new meaning to the original work?
3. Nature: Is it a news article or a creative poem? A factual story is more likely fair use.
4. Amount Used: Using a snippet is good. Using the heart of the work is bad.
5. Effect on the Market: If people buy your version instead of the original, it’s not fair use.

Examples of Fair Use

• A YouTuber playing a movie clip to explain why they believe the acting is subpar.
• A news station showing a brief clip of the President’s speech to report on it.
• A teacher showing a well-known photograph and asking students to write about it.
• Making fun of a song by rewriting the lyrics (à la Weird Al Yankovich).
  Fun Fact: Weird Al Yankovic always seeks permission from the original artists before releasing a parody, even though legally he could likely rely on "fair use" laws.

Tip: Always acknowledge the creator and attribute their work whenever you use it.

Want to learn more?

The following resources provide in-depth guides on copyright and fair use.

• Stanford Copyright and Fair Use Center: One of the most cited resources on the web. It includes a vast library of articles, a "Copyright in 90 Seconds" educational series, and specific charts and tools to help you determine if a work is in the public domain.
• S. Copyright Office - Fair Use Index: The official government portal. Their Fair Use Index allows you to search for actual court cases by category (e.g., music, parody, education) to see how judges have ruled on similar issues.
• Mount Holyoke College – Fair Use Guide: A clear academic explanation of the doctrine, that is useful for students and research contexts. It includes examples of “transformative use.”

Email Donna M. Marks or call the Editorial Help Desk at 240-740-2971.