Fair use is the most relevant copyright exception for students since it allows many uses of copyrighted works for the purposes of education and research. However, educational uses are automatically considered fair.
Fair use is a doctrine found in US copyright law which recognizes that there are certain uses of copyrighted works that don't require permission from the copyright owner. Some types of uses that are favored by fair use include criticism, commentary, parody, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. However, not all uses made for these purposes will automatically be fair. Instead, copyright law provides a framework to determine what uses should be considered fair. This means that fair use must always be considered on a case by case basis.
Everyone is free to make fair uses of copyrighted works, but copyright owners can disagree on what qualifies as fair use and assert that uses are copyright infringement. This means that those who want to exercise their fair use right should consider their use under the framework provided by copyright law and weigh the risks involved in certain uses.
Fair use is purposefully vague so that it can remain flexible as technologies and types of uses change over time. However, its vagueness can make it more difficult to decide when your use is or isn't fair. In order to decide if a use is fair, you have to analyze the particular details of your situation and proposed use.
There are four factors that must be considered when making a fair use decision, although others can be considered. These factors are:
Another factor that has emerged as a consideration in recent copyright case law is transformative use. A particular use of a copyrighted work may be considered transformative if it uses the copyrighted work in a completely new way or with a new purpose that the original work's creator never intended. A transformative use of a copyrighted work can help weigh in favor of fair use.
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