Penn State University Libraries - Copyright and Fair-Use

What is Fair Use?

Put simply, fair use is an exception to infringe­ment. It's the use of copyrighted material without the authorization of the owner for an expressive purpose (i.e., quoting information from an article in your research paper).

Examples of fair uses include commentary, criticism, or parody.

If you use copyrighted works in your video/ podcast or other online material, does your use of the materials constitute fair use?

Before you use copyrighted works, you should consider the four fundamental factors of fair use and determine whether, on balance, they favor your use more than the author's protection (these factors are from the U.S. Code Title on Copyright):

• What is the character of the use?
  How are you using the material? Does it contribute to the educational message/content of your research paper/project?
   
• What is the nature of the work that you are using?
  Is it fact-based or highly expressive?

• How much of the work will you use within your research paper/project?
  Are you using only a small portion of the work, e.g., a short video clip or a quote from an article?
   
• What effect would this use have on the market for the original or for permissions if the use were widespread?
  Is the copyrighted work you're using out of print or unavailable? Would your use compete with the original?

For example, applying the above factors, you can see that many works created for class assign­ments would fall under fair use. Use the four factors and review them to see how they apply to your specific situation.

For more information, see: “Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use.” Title 17 U.S. Code, Chapter 1, Section 107.

The University of Minnesota's Thinking Through Fair Use Tool is a web-based test designed to guide you through the essential questions determining fair use of copyrighted materials.

Fair Use Summary

• Limited Time
• Limited Material
• Limited Audience
• For Critique, Education, or Satire
• Protects Commercial Value of Work

Are copyright infringement and plagiarism the same thing?

Copyright infringement and plagiarism are different concepts entirely. Plagiarism is claiming that you are the author of someone else's work. Copyright infringement is using someone else's work without their permission (and outside the boundaries of fair use).

For more information about plagiarism, see the Libraries interactive tutorial, Plagiarism & You.

If you are using information created by others in your work, it's essential that you properly cite your sources.

Information on citing sources