Copyright and Fair Use Information

The laws and regulations referred to as copyright protect the rights of owners and creators of original work. That work must be “fixed” in that it is recorded in some form of tangible medium.

Examples of copyrighted works include:

• Books, papers, articles, and other written works
• Music, including any accompanying words
• Plays, pantomimes, choreography, including any accompanying music
• Paintings, photography, sculpture and other visual arts
• Video recordings
• Sound recordings
• Architectural works

Copyright law does not protect ideas, procedures, methods, concepts, discoveries, or works that have not been “fixed” (such as choreography that has not been notated or an improvised speech that has not been recorded). For more information about unprotected work see the U.S. Copyright Office Circular 33 Works Not Protected by Copyright.

The protections afforded the copyright owner include the exclusive right to reproduction, derivation, distribution, public performance or display. The owner may also authorize others to use their work. 

Fair Use 

Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, known as “Fair Use”, describes the circumstances in which original work may be used without the consent of the work’s copyright owner.

The following is the full text from section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act:

107. Limitation on exclusive rights: Fair use

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified in that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include -

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.

The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.

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