Fair Use Week: Learn a Little About Copyright

The doctrine of “fair use” was originally announced by the U.S. Supreme Court and was subsequently adopted by Congress in the 1976 revisions to copyright law. Today the meaning of fair use can be found at 17 U.S.C. § 107. This week many academic libraries are honoring fair use to point out its crucial role in scholarly writing. The Law Library has a guide to fair use (and the T.E.A.C.H. Act) for faculty and students. Kevin Smith of Duke University, one of the country’s first scholarly communications officers, provides information and links to several resources in his blog post. So the next time you quote someone’s article or enjoy a parody, give a little thanks to “fair use.”

Comments are closed.