Fair Use allows for limited reproductions of a copyrighted work without the author"s permission for specific purposes. Fair Use is a privilege and is a great source of misunderstanding. If copyright were only applied to the owners' rights, then the public would have to ask for permission for every use. A copyright gives the author or artist legal rights to exclude others from using their work.

Guidelines have been established to help determine Fair Use exemptions. Although these guidelines are not legally binding, they are generally agreed upon.

Four Factors are used to determine Fair Use

1. Purpose and character of the use, is it commercial, educational, etc.

2. Nature of the copyrighted work

3. Amount and substantiality of the work used versus the whole of the work

4. Effect on the market place and value of the copyright work

Of the above 4 guidelines, the effect on the market value is considered more important in the decisions for Fair Use.

Always use the least amount needed, take no more than necessary. The quantity varies from 5%-30%. There is no predefined acceptable use of copyrighted materials. If the works needed do not meet the 4 factors for Fair Use, receive permission of the copyright holder.

Other factors that play a role of multiple copying 
in the Fair Use question are:

1. Spontaneity-was the decision to copy at the last minute

2. Cumulative Effect-was the decision to copy from an author done for only a few instances

3. Brevity-was the decision to copy the very smallest portion necessary

The major emphasis must be to always give credit where credit is due and to only copy the least amount necessary.

The chart below derived from the "Fair Use of Copyrighted Materials" retrieved from http://utsystem.edu/OGC/IntellectualProperty/copypol2.htm illustrates the Four Factor Test in Fair Use.

Four Factor Test in Fair Use

In using this four-factor test, the actions on the left hand side of the chart favor the Fair Use side whereas the actions on the right hand side will show that in using materials permission would need to be requested. All four factors must be considered in the Fair Use exemption.

Fair Use and the Internet

The public believes that the Internet is a free source of information. The truth is that everything on the Internet is also copyrighted. As soon as materials are posted to a web page, an email or saved to a disk, that material is copyrighted. New challenges apply to the Internet due to the ease in downloading, copying and pasting materials. Just because it is easy to copy technology doesn't make it legal.