12-Fair Use

Evaluating Your Case for Fair Use

Copyright law lacks specificity, so it can be difficult to determine whether or not a particular use may qualify as fair use. Fortunately, there are a number of useful tools available online to help you consider the four fair use factors as they apply to your intended use.

A Fair Use Checklist can be very helpful for conducting a fair use analysis. The checklist indicates various criteria for each factor which have been found in a court of law to favor or oppose a finding of fair use. It is highly recommended that you use a fair use checklist to evaluate the strength of your argument for fair use.

Movie: Follow the Four Factors of Fair Use

Watch this video to see a fair use analysis using a fair use checklist.

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Choosing & Using Sources: A Guide to Academic Research by Teaching & Learning, Ohio State University Libraries is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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