[Skip to Content]

Copyright & Fair Use

Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (title 17, U.S. Code) to the authors of “original works of authorship.” Copyright protection applies whether or not the author or creator registers his or her work, and may also be transferred by the author.

“Fair Use” is an exception to Copyright Law often applied in educational settings for the use of material protected by copyright. 

Section 107 of the copyright law sets out four factors to be considered in determining whether or not a particular use qualifies as fair use:

  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.

Copyright & Fair Use

Please refer to the Upstate Health Science’s Library Guide to Copyright & Fair Use for further information.  Librarians are available to answer your Copyright questions at library@upstate.edu.

Top