Fair Use Decoded

Fair Use is your First Amendment right to use copyrighted works (books, news articles, Instagram reels, film and TV clips, photos, music, or speeches) without permission to create something new and transformative. From internet memes and news commentary to search engine indexes and classroom discussions, fair use keeps information accessible and creative freedom intact.

Everyone! Fair use may be more familiar to filmmakers, artists, technologists, and authors, but teachers, small businesses, journalists, researchers, content creators, and everyday internet users rely on fair use daily. Fair use industries contributed $4.9 trillion to the U.S. economy in 2023, so fair use is also serious business!

Absolutely! Like the First Amendment, Fair Use is a broad and fundamental right that can flex to keep culture, history, and innovation alive and accessible as technology makes new forms of creativity and information sharing possible. From the printing press era and the birth of modern copyright, to the rise of the internet, and now generative AI, Fair Use is essential to preserving our balanced copyright system that is under threat. Fair Use has always been about balance between rightsholders and innovators – let’s keep it that way.