Theos-Talk Archives (July 1999 Message tl00015)

> Mr. Ramadoss wrote:
> As for those in the US, I found the following to be important if one is
> ever challenged of copyright infringement.
>
> " By contrast the operative concept in the United States
> is 'fair use' which, in the simplest terms, means: Nonprofit use is
> fair use."
>

A good location to read more about this is http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html. The notes section
is interesting.
Regarding fair use, the law reads:
---
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by
reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as
criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research,
is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use
the factors to be considered shall include -

     (1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether
     such use is of a 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; and

     (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or
     value of the copyrighted work. The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if
     such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.
---
   -Mike Grenier   vlg@minn.net