What is "fair use"

n. (context legal English): a doctrine in intellectual property law that permits one party to make use of another party's protected intellectual property (such as a copyright or trademark) under narrowly defined circumstances

n. the conditions under which you can use material that is copyrighted by someone else without paying royalties

Fair use is a US legal doctrine that permits limited use of copyrighted material without acquiring permission from the rights holders. It is similar to the fair dealing doctrines used in some countries outside the United States. While according to the Supreme Court fair use is an affirmative defense, in Lenz v. Universal Music Corp., (the "dancing baby" case), the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit concluded that fair use was not merely a defense to an infringement claim, but was an expressly authorized right, and an exception to the exclusive rights granted to the author of a creative work by copyright law. "Fair use is therefore distinct from affirmative defenses where a use infringes a copyright, but there is no liability due to a valid excuse, e.g., misuse of a copyright." Examples of fair use in United States copyright law include commentary, search engines, criticism, parody, news reporting, research, and scholarship. Although related, the limitations and exceptions to copyright for teaching and library archiving in the U.S. are located in a different section of the statute. Fair use provides for the legal, unlicensed citation or incorporation of copyrighted material in another author's work under a four-factor balancing test.

The term "fair use" originated in the United States. A similar-sounding principle, fair dealing, exists in some other common law jurisdictions but in fact it is more similar in principle to the enumerated exceptions found under civil law systems. Civil law jurisdictions have other limitations and exceptions to copyright.

Fair use is one of the traditional safety valves intended to balance the interests of copyright holders with the public interest in the wider distribution and use of creative works by allowing certain limited uses that might otherwise be considered infringement.

In the United States, trademark law includes a fair use defense, sometimes called "trademark fair use" to distinguish it from the better-known fair use doctrine in copyright. Freedom of speech as guaranteed by the First Amendment is a premise for the fair use doctrine in both trademark and copyright law. Fair use is consistent with the more limited protection granted to trademarks, generally specific only to the particular product market and geographic area of the trademark owner.

Most trademarks are adapted from words or symbols already common to the culture, as Apple, Inc. is from apple, instead of being invented by the mark owner (such as Kodak). Courts have recognized that ownership in the mark cannot prevent others from using the word or symbol in these other senses, such as if the trademark is a descriptive word or common symbol such as a pine tree. This means that the less distinctive or original the trademark, the less able the trademark owner will be to control how it is used.

A nonowner may also use a trademark nominatively—to refer to the actual trademarked product or its source. In addition to protecting product criticism and analysis, United States law actually encourages nominative usage by competitors in the form of comparative advertising.

The fair use defense in trademark law is not precluded by the possibility of confusion, according to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2004. However, courts may consider the possibility of confusion in analyzing whether a use is fair or not. Intent to show confusion is also relevant; hence, the general rule that no more of the trademark should be used than necessary for the legitimate purpose. For instance, use of a word mark is preferred to a logo, and a word mark in the same style of type as surrounding text is preferred to a word mark in its trademarked distinctive type.