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Can I use it? Fair Use Checklist

Favoring Fair Use

Opposing Fair Use

 
PURPOSE
             
 

Teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use)

 

 

Commercial activity

 

Research

 

 

Profiting from the use

 

Scholarship

 

 

Entertainment

 

Nonprofit Educational Institution

 

 

Bad-faith behavior

 

Criticism

 

 

Denying credit to original author

 

Comment

 

 

 

 

 

News reporting

 

 

 

 

 

Transformative or Productive use (changes the work for new utility)

 

Restricted access (to students or other appropriate group)

 

Parody

 

 

 

 

             
NATURE
             
 

Published work

 

 

Unpublished work

 

Factual or nonfiction based

 

 

Highly creative work (art, music, novels, films, plays)

 

Important to favored educational objectives

 

 

Fiction

           
AMOUNT
             
 

Small quantity

 

 

Large portion or whole work used

 

Portion used is not central or significant to entire work

 

 

Portion used is central to work or "heart of the work"

 

Amount is appropriate for favored educational purpose

 

 

 

             
EFFECT
             
 

User owns lawfully acquired or purchased copy of original work

 

 

Could replace sale of copyrighted work

 

One or few copies made

 

 

Significantly impairs market or potential market for copyrighted work or derivative

 

No significant effect on the market or potential market for copyrighted work

 

 

Reasonably available licensing mechanism for use of the copyrighted work

 

No similar product marketed by the copyright holder

 

 

Affordable permission available for using work

 

Lack of licensing mechanism

 

 

Numerous copies made

   

 

 

 

You made it accessible on Web or in other public forum

       

 

Repeated or long term use

             
             
Adapted from Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis "Checklist for Fair Use": http://www.copyright.iupui.edu/checklist.htm
             
Disclaimer: The Copyright Information Resources pages are provided by the Libraries as an educational service to the University community. The information contained on these pages is not legal advice. Individuals and organizations should consult University Legal Counsel or their own attorneys as appropriate.