1. Can I use this?
A brief guide to fair use
for the student journalist

2. Fair use
A few things to know
 All copyright law is federal
 This means that a law will apply the same
throughout the U.S.

3. Fair use
What is the intent of the law?
 The idea is to encourage creativity by protecting
intellectual property and protect a person’s ability
to make a profit from his/her intellectual work
 The intent is not to stifle creativity, but to foster it

4. Fair use
What does copyright protect?
 Any original work of authorship put in some
tangible form
 Fixation (being saved) is a vital compnent

5. Fair use
What does copyright not protect?
 Facts
 In news, the info is not the issue; it’s the
expression
 Titles of works
 Short phrases (although these can be trademark
protected)

6. Shepard Fairy

7. Fair use
A few things to know
 Copyright status (notice) is not required
 Simply attributing source is not enough; you must
obtain permission
 Copyright law does not specify percentage or time

8. Fair use
When does a work become part of the public
domain?
 Passage of time
 75 years after the death of the creator
 Creator chooses to put it there

9. Fair Use
Four Criteria
1. The purpose and character of the use, including
whether such use is of commercial nature or is
for nonprofit educational purposes
2. The nature of the copyrighted work
3. The amount and substantiality of the portion
used in relation to the copyrighted work as a
whole
4. The effect of the use upon the potential market
for, or value of, the copyrighted work

10. Fair use
So what can I use?
• Use very small portion of a work
• 29 secs or less has traditionally not been pursued for
song copyright infringement
• Ask yourself if copyright holder a subject of the
coverage
• State and federal websites have little right to
prosecute for copyright infringement
• Movie posters OK if an article about the movie

11. Resources
Material for designers/journalists
• Creative commons.org
Copyright law
• Student Press Law Center
– www.splc.org
• U.S. Copyright Office fair use guidelines
– http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html

12. Can I use this?
A brief guide to fair use
for the student journalist