- Andy, putting together a newsletter on his home computer, reprints an editorial he likes from a daily newspaper.
- Phil, a biographer and historian, quotes from several unpublished letters and diaries written by his subject.
- Regina, a freelance writer, closely paraphrases two paragraphs from the Encyclopedia Britannica in an article she's writing.
- Sylvia, a poet, quotes a line from a poem by T.S. Eliot in one of her own poems.
- Donnie, a comedian, writes a parody of the famous song "Blue Moon" he performs in his comedy act.
Under the "fair use" rule of copyright law, an author may make limited use of another author's work without asking permission. Fair use is based on the belief that the public is entitled to freely use portions of copyrighted materials for purposes of commentary and criticism. The fair use privilege is perhaps the most significant limitation on a copyright owner's exclusive rights. If you write or publish, you need a basic understanding of what is and is not fair use.
Uses That Are Generally Fair UsesSubject to some general limitations discussed later in this article, the following types of uses are usually deemed fair uses:
- Criticism and comment -- for example, quoting or excerpting a work in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment.
- News reporting -- for example, summarizing an address or article, with brief quotations, in a news report.
- Research and scholarship -- for example, quoting a short passage in a scholarly, scientific, or technical work for illustration or clarification of the author's observations.
- Nonprofit educational uses -- for example, photocopying of limited portions of written works by teachers for classroom use.
- Parody -- that is, a work that ridicules another, usually well-known, work by imitating it in a comic way.
Non-commercial use is often fair use. Violations often occur when the use is motivated primarily by a desire for commercial gain. The fact that a work is published primarily for private commercial gain weighs against a finding of fair use. For example, using the Bob Dylan line "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows" in a poem published in a small literary journal would probably be a fair use; using the same line in an advertisement for raincoats probably would not be.
Benefit to the public may be fair use. A commercial motive doesn't always disqualify someone from claiming a fair use. A use that benefits the public can qualify as a fair use, even if it makes money for the user.
For example, in its advertising a vacuum cleaner manufacturer was permitted to quote from a Consumer Reports article comparing vacuum cleaners. Why? The ad significantly increased the number of people exposed to the Consumers Reports' evaluations and thereby disseminated helpful consumer information. The same rationale probably applies to the widespread practice of quoting from favorable reviews in advertisements for books, films, and plays.
For more detailed information on fair use and copyrighted material, see Getting Permission: How to License & Clear Copyrighted Materials Online & Off, by Richard Stim (Nolo).