Attribution, Citation, and Copyright: Copyright, Fair Use, Creative Commons

Fair Use Guidelines

There are four standards that you must consider when deciding whether fair use protects your use of a copyrighted work. You can use the acronym PANE to help you remember them:

• Purpose and character of the use
• Amount and substantiality of the portion used
• Nature of the copyrighted work
• Effect of the use upon the potential market

Keep in mind that fair use is a subjective legal issue; that is, opinions may vary on whether your use of a copyrighted work is “fair.” Think of each of these guidelines on its own sliding scale, as in the image below (adapted from University of Minnesota Libraries, 2011):

• A nonprofit organization that enables the sharing and use of creativity.
• Easy-to-use copyright licenses provide a simple way to give the public permission to use creative works.
• Easily changes copyright terms from the default of “all rights reserved” to “some rights reserved.”
• Not an alternative to copyright.  They work alongside copyright.
• No warranties are given.  The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary (publicity, privacy, moral rights*, etc.) 

Artist Jonas Jödicke calls out Aaron Carter for using his artwork without permission

Bill Murray gets cease and desist letter from the Doobie Brothers

Spotify playlist of a selection of songs sued for copyright infringement

University of Georgia Reserves copyright lawsuit