Fair Use Checklist
Copyright Advisory Office Columbia University Libraries Kenneth D. Crews, Director http://copyright.columbia.edu
Name: ________________________________________________________________________ Institution: _____________________________________________________________________ Project: ________________________________________________________________________ Date: _________________________________________________________________________ Prepared by: ____________________________________________________________________
Purpose
Favoring Fair Use
Teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use)
Research
Scholarship
Nonprofit educational institution
Criticism
Comment
News reporting
Transformative or productive use (changes the work for new utility)
Restricted access (to students or other appropriate group)
Parody
Opposing Fair Use
Commercial activity
Profiting from the use Entertainment
Bad-faith behavior
Denying credit to original author
Nature
Favoring Fair Use
Published work
Factual or nonfiction based
Important to favored educational objectives
Amount
Favoring Fair Use
Small quantity
Portion used is not central or significant to entire work
Amount is appropriate for favored educational purpose
Effect
Favoring Fair Use
Opposing Fair Use
Unpublished work
Highly creative work (art, music, novels, films, plays)
Fiction
Opposing Fair Use
Large portion or whole work used
Portion used is central to or “heart of the work”
Opposing Fair Use
Could replace sale of copyrighted work
Significantly impairs market or potential market for copyrighted work or derivative
Reasonably available licensing mechanism for use of the copyrighted work
Affordable permission available for using work
Numerous copies made
You made it accessible on the Web or in other public forum
Repeated or long-term use
User owns lawfully purchased or acquired copy of original work
One or few copies made
No significant effect on the market or potential market for copyrighted work
No similar product marketed by the copyright holder
Lack of licensing mechanism
