Copyright & Fair Use--A complete guide to all copyright and fair use questions.
As a general rule:
audio works - 10% or 30 seconds; whatever is less
video works - 3 minutes or less
written works - 10% or 250 words; whatever is less
artwork - requires permission of copyright holder
Note: Copies of copyrighted works, regardless of their format, should include proper attribution and copyright notices.
Copyright owners are within their legal rights to press charges against you for violating the fair use exemption policy. You can be sued, go to jail, and pay expensive fines.
Do you want to review fair use scenarios? Click the links below to read examples of situations you may encounter during your time as a student or faculty member. These example are intended to help faculty and students evaluate fair use and are meant to be illustrative and not exhaustive.
Content in the section was adapted with permission from NYU Libraries Guide on Copyright and Fair USe at Dibner Library.
Fair use defends free speech rights and supports circumstances that allows for the use of brief excerpts of copyrighted material to be used without permission from the copyright holder. Circumstances include:
Four factors of consideration:
1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of 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
4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work