Fair Use Copyright

Fair use is the partial or limited reproduction of another's work that is permitted under the copyright law. The distinction of fair use and infringement may be unclear and not easily defined because there is no specific number of words, lines, or notes prescribed by law that may be safely taken without permission.

Fair Use Considerations

When starting multimedia work, such as a Web page, according to the Copyright law, the following five things must be taken into account:

1. Purpose and character of the work
2. Nature of the work (e.g., differences in audiences for movies, books, magazines, and newspapers)
3. Intended market (e.g., mass market or educational market)
4. Amount
1. Proportion of work used
2. Substantiality of the proportion (i.e., Is it a substantially important proportion? The quantity in this case has not been heretofore defined.)
5. Effect of use on the potential market (i.e., How will it affect the future use/ marketability of the work?)