Understanding the Fair Use Statute

Copyright infringement is a serious issue, but under the fair use statute, individuals can utilize some materials without permission from the author or creator of the intellectual property. The Fair Use Statute allows the use of copyrighted materials without authorization when one uses the material for scholarly or educational purposes. For example, if a student is to write a research paper, it is important that they can cite a proper source without gaining permission first. Other aspects of The Fair Use Statute are more difficult to navigate, and the court often must decide whether material is of fair use or not.

Court Consideration

When trying to determine if intellectual property is of fair use, a court considers the following:

• If the use of the material negatively affects its sales, then its use is typically unfair.
• The percent of use pulled from the copyrighted work matters. The more used, the less likely it is that a court will agree that the resulting work is of fair use.
• If someone uses the copyrighted work to create a new and informative body of work, the court often considers the work of fair use. However, if the new work does not transform the work at all or uses copyrighted materials to produce a commercial work, then the court is more apt to decide that the materials are not of fair use.

Why to Hire an Attorney

If you feel that you someone falsely accused you of copyright infringement because of the Fair Use Statute, it is advisable that you seek the defense of an attorney. In addition, if you feel that someone infringed upon your intellectual property, an attorney can be beneficial to your case. In either scenario, the attorneys at Gagnon, Peacock & Vereeke, P.C. have vast experience in copyright infringement cases and can be of great help. For a confidential consultation, call our Dallas office at (214) 824-1414.