United States Copyright Law contains exemptions designed to encourage creative uses of copyrighted material. If your desired use of copyrighted material falls under one of these exemptions, you do not have to ask permission to use the material.
In this section, you will learn what these exemptions are and how to determine if one or more of them cover your use of copyrighted material.
Fair use (§ 107) is an exemption in copyright law that seeks to balance the interests of copyrighted works' creators and the public's ability to benefit from those works “by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works in certain circumstances” (United States Copyright Office, 2017c).
Fair use allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission for purposes such as research, scholarship, teaching, criticism and news reporting. However, using works for research or educational purposes does not necessarily mean that you may copy or distribute a work without permission.
When making a fair use determination, the law requires four factors be considered. Each of these factors is given equal weight:
The information below outlines factors that favor or disfavor a fair use defense. Use a fair use checklist to help weigh these factors and document your assessment.
Factor 1: The purpose and character of the use
Factor 2: The nature of the copyrighted work
Factor 3: The amount and substantiality of the portion used
Factor 4: The effect of the use on the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work
Creative Commons provides a free and standard set of licenses that copyright owners can apply to allow others to use their work via specific conditions without seeking permission.
The chart below illustrates the permissions allowed by each of the Creative Commons licenses. If the material you want to reuse has been released under a Creative Commons license that allows for your desired use, you do not need to consider any other copyright exceptions or seek permission from the copyright holder.
Many platforms and search engines such as the Internet Archive, Flickr and YouTube enable users to discover images, video, research and educational texts with a CC license.
Chart from University of Pittsburgh Libraries.
Creative Commons License | Permits Redistribution | Requires Attribution of Original Work | Permits Commercial Use | Permits Modifications & Adaptations | Permits License Choice for Adaptations |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Public Domain |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
CC-BY |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
CC-BY-SA |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
CC-BY-ND |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
CC-BY-NC |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
CC-BY-NC-SA |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
CC-BY-NC-ND |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
Yes |
The public domain consists of materials that are not protected by copyright and may be used freely by everyone without obtaining permission or citing the original author. The public owns the materials in the public domain. The public domain includes materials authored by the U.S. Government, materials with an expired copyright term or materials for which the copyright owner has failed to maintain their copyright.
The rules for establishing public domain status for a work are dependent on several factors including its age, the conditions under which it was originally published and work type. The Cornell University Library maintains a guide to copyright terms and public domain in the United States that can help you determine the status of a work you want to use.
If none of the exemptions detailed above apply to your desired use of copyrighted material, you can seek permission from the rights holder.
There are two ways to obtain permission to use copyrighted materials: contact the copyright holder directly, or use a rights clearinghouse. Whether you are contacting a rights holder directly or using a clearinghouse, you will need:
If you are contacting the rights holder directly:
If you are using a copyright clearinghouse, be aware that different clearinghouses deal with different types of works:
The organizations listed here do not represent every creator or type of work. If you are having trouble locating rights for a specific work, please contact copyright@ohsu.edu.