Copyright is a legal framework that protects the rights of content creators.
The US Constitution vests the power to regulate copyright in Congress. The stated purpose of copyright (and other intellectual property law) is to promote creativity and scientific discovery by ensuring that creators have certain exclusive rights to their eligible work – including the right to reproduce, distribute or sell, perform or display a work, or to restrict the reproduction, distribution, sale, performance, or display of a work.
Fair Use is a legal framework that protects the rights of content users.
To allow the use of copyright-protected content in certain contexts, federal law was amended by the Copyright Act of 1976, which codified Fair Use Doctrine. The Fair Use clause allows anyone to make use of copyrighted content when specific criteria are met. The four factors that must be considered when making a Fair Use case to use copyright-protected material are
(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a 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.
Both the Fair Use clause and subsequent Fair Use case law establish specific purposes in which the use of copyright-protected material is fair and does not constitute infringement, including
criticism and comment
teaching and course reserves
scholarship or research
archiving
text mining and full-text indexing
parody and satire.
Taken together with the First Amendment, the activities protected by Fair Use provide the “built-in free speech safeguards” in copyright law which Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg references in the Supreme Court’s majority opinion for Eldred v. Ashcroft, 537 U.S. 186 (2003).
Learn More
As a content user, it is your responsibility to conform to the four factors of fair use or obtain permission to use another creator’s work. The resources listed below can help you learn more about copyright and fair use compliance!
Penn State University Libraries Copyright Guide
Penn State University Libraries Copyright and Fair Use in Digital Storytelling
Library of Congress Frequently Asked Questions about Copyright
Library of Congress Compendium of US Copyright Practices
Library of Congress Information on Fair Use and Fair Use Case Index
