Fair use first appeared in the Copyright Act of 1976, although courts had been making fair use determinations for decades before then. It allows some use of copyrighted materials for educational purposes without permission.

ALL FOUR of the following factors must be considered when determining whether copying constitutes fair use under the Copyright Act. (The best approach, however, is to always request permission before copying.)

1. The PURPOSE AND CHARACTER of the use, including whether or not it is commercial in nature. (Was use of the copied work of a commercial nature or was it intended for educational purposes? Was the work copied for the purposes of criticism, comments, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research?)



2. The NATURE of the copyrighted work to be used. (Is it a published or an unpublished work? Is the work factual or fictitious in nature? Is the work a mixture of fact and imaginative information?)



3. The AMOUNT AND SUBSTANTIALITY of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole. (How much of the work was used or copied?)



4. The EFFECT on the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work. (Did reproduction of the work deprive the copyright holder of licensing income or a potential sale, therefore, reducing potential profits?)

Fair Use Guidelines for Classroom Copying