This week is Fair Use Week and UT Libraries is participating by hosting a Copyright & Fair Use workshop on Wednesday and by joining in the online discussion via social media.
If you want to see everything that is happening around the country this week, please see the Association of Research Libraries’ page devoted to Fair Use Week.
What is fair use?
Fair use is the limited use of copyrighted works without needing to ask permission from the copyright owner. There is a ton of nuance in that sentence and fair use requires careful consideration. While it is complicated, it’s one of the most important parts of U.S. copyright law for people who are creating new works by building upon the works of others.
Fair use is happening all around – especially if you are on a college campus.
- A professor may use small clips from films or television shows to demonstrate or illustrate a point in class
- A student may use quotes from other authors in order to expand upon an argument in their paper
- University radio or TV stations may use small clips from press conferences or other events as part of their news reporting
- An instructor may share an article or selected reading with their class
- A PhD student may include images or figures in their dissertation
- A student group may create a parody of a popular show or meme
If this all seems foreign to you, I encourage to come to the workshop tomorrow (Wednesday) about fair use. We’ll discuss the basics of copyright & fair use and have hands-on “is this fair use?” activities.
The Libraries also has a comprehensive resource about copyright in the U.S. There is a subsection on fair use that gives a good overview of what needs to be considered. And I highly recommend you check out the codes of best practices that the Center for Media & Social Impact has collected on their site. While these statements are not legally binding, they are a great resource for investigating fair use in different fields.
