Cunningham Memorial Library: Copyright: Fair Use

Tools for first steps in Fair Use

Fair Use Checklist A proper use of this checklist should serve two purposes. First, it should help you to focus on factual circumstances that are important in your evaluation of fair use. The meaning and scope of fair use depends on the particular facts of a given situation, and changing one or more facts may alter the analysis. Second, the checklist can provide an important mechanism to document your decision-making process. Maintaining a record of your fair use analysis can be critical for establishing good faith; consider adding to the checklist the current date and notes about your project. Keep completed checklists on file for future reference. Based on "The Fair Use Checklist" by Kenneth Crews and Dwayne K. Buttler licensed by a Creative Commons Attribution License with attribution to the original creators

ALA Fair Use Evaluator Tool From Michael Brewer & ALA Office for Information Technology Policy. This tool is intended as a first step in helping librarians, educators & others better understand how to make fair use determinations.
CMSI Best Practices in Fair Use
A collection of best practices in Fair Use across disciplines from the Center for Media & Social Impact.

More Fair Use Resources

Fair Use U.S. Case Index
From the U.S. Copyright Office, a searchable database of court opinions, including by category and type of use (e.g., music, internet/digitization, parody). For each decision, there is a brief summary of the facts, the relevant question(s) presented, and the court’s determination as to whether the contested use was fair.
more...less...
The Fair Use Index tracks a variety of judicial decisions to help both lawyers and non-lawyers better understand the types of uses courts have previously determined to be fair—or not fair. The decisions span multiple federal jurisdictions, including the U.S. Supreme Court, circuit courts of appeal, and district courts.
Know Your Copyrights from ARL
At a glance guidance on the correct use of works to remain on the right side of Fair Use.
O'Neill, Megan. “The Complete Guide To Fair Use & YouTube.” Adweek, Adweek, LLC., 16 May 2011.
Guidance on fair use for creators and viewers on YouTube.
Fair Use For the Visual Arts
Resources from the College Art Association of America include:
*Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for the Visual Arts
*FAQ on Fair Use in the Visual Arts
*Teaching Tools to reach students

Fair Use Intro | The Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society

What is Fair Use?

What is fair use (Section 107)?

Grants use of copyrighted materials for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research.

Governed by 4 key factors ALL have to be weighed in evaluation:

The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a Commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes
The nature of the copyrighted work (factual work is generally more likely fair use than a creative work)
The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole (even a small amount used might not qualify if the part used is the “heart” of the work.)
The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

***If not covered by the four factors above use can be granted by permission***

Collections Strategy & Copyright Librarian

Melissa Gustafson

She/ her

Email Me

Contact:

(812) 237-2057

Subjects: Copyright, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Earth & Environmental Science, Open Educational Resources

Information Notice

The information presented here is intended for informational purposes and should not be construed as legal advice. If you have specific legal questions pertaining to Indiana State University, please contact the Office of the General Counsel.