Fair Use of Copyright

Copyright infringement is one thing, but the "fair use" of copyrighted material is another.  Fair use can occur even without the author's permission and is legal.  Technically, fair use is defined as "a privilege in others than the owner of the copyright to use the copyrighted material in a reasonable manner without the consent of the copyright owner."  If you are the owner of copyrighted material or if you are considering using someone else's work, a judge will usually look at four factors to determine if there has been a copyright infringement or not:

1)  The nature of the copyrighted work.  If the work in question is factual (a history of WWII, for example), then it is harder to prove infringement than if the work is one of fiction.

2)  How has the use of the new material affected the marketability of the copyrighted work?   If the original work has lost much of its value due to the new material, then infringement can be more easily proven.

3)  How much of the original work was infringed upon?  In other words, how much of the copyrighted material was quoted in the new material?  The entire piece or just a portion?

4)  The reason for the use of the new material.  Was it for non-profit or teaching, or was it for commercial use?

If someone has infringed upon your copyrighted work, you need to talk to an experienced, reputable attorney as soon as possible to stop the infringement.  In most cases, you can sue for damages.

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