Copyright and Author Rights

Fair Use is an exception to United States copyright law, where a person/entity who does not own the copyright in a work can use it without having to obtain the copyright owner's permission. 

There are four factors of Fair Use to consider when evaluating your use of a copyrighted work.

1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

While the library cannot provide legal advice, there are many helpful resources about copyright and fair use available. In addition to the US Copyright Law, additional Fair Use references are listed below, including a "Fair Use Checklist" that can be used for your evaluation of whether your use might be considered a Fair Use.

• CHEER: Fair Use Resources
  • Several resources aggregated by Clemson University Library that address Fair Use of copyrighted resources.
• Fair Use Checklist developed by Crews and Buttler (2008)
  • Provides guidance on making a fair use determination
• Stanford University Library's Copyright & Fair Use Overview
  • Detailed review of copyright and Fair Use including summaries of Fair Use Cases
• Crash Course in Copyright's "Fair Use of Copyrighted Materials"
• Fair Use in the Visual Arts: Lesson Plans for Libraries (published by ARLIS/NA)