Copyright and Fair Use

In certain situations, copyright can be overridden to allow public use of a work that might otherwise be protected.  This is called fair use.

When deciding if the use of a copyrighted work is permitted by fair use, the following must be considered -

1. The purpose and character of the use (educational, non-profit, transformative, and personal uses tend to be allowed by fair use)
2. The nature of the copyrighted work (factual and non-fiction works are more likely to qualify for fair use)
3. The amount and sustainability of use (a small, unimportant portion of a work used is more likely to be permitted by fair use)
4. The effect on the potential market (fair use is more likely to be allowed when the use of the work does not result in any financial loss to the creator or copyright holder)