What is "fair use?"

Under the fair use doctrine of the U.S. copyright statute, it is permissible to use limited portions of a work, including quotes, for purposes such as commentary, criticism, news reporting, and scholarly reports. "Fair use" is a complete defense to copyright infringement; however, there are no legal rules permitting the use of a specific number of words, a certain number of musical notes, or percentages of a work. Whether a particular use qualifies as fair use depends on all the circumstances.

When does it apply?

• the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
  


• the nature of the work;
  


• the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
  


• the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
  

The cases are complicated and fact-intensive. For more information, see Copyright Office Circular 21 and Copyright Office Form Letter 102. For a terrific search engine of fair use decisions and materials visit Stanford University's Copyright and Fair Use search engine.

What is the "first sale doctrine?"

The first sale doctrine is a narrow limitation on an owner's copyright. Under this doctrine, an author's exclusive right to distribute the work publicly is cut off when the lawful owner of a copy or phonorecord sells or otherwise disposes of that copy. However, the right to distribute a copy purchased from the author (or someone else authorized to sell it) does not mean that the buyer has the right to make reproductions. The various exclusive rights enjoyed by the copyright holder are independent of each other. Thus, if a copy of a recording is distributed electronically, and both the original and a new copy exist, the right of reproduction is violated.