Clemson Libraries proudly celebrates Fair Use Week from February 25 – March 1st, 2019, a nation-wide promotional effort held each year to raise awareness to the doctrine of fair use under United States copyright law. Fair use is a crucial exception and limitation to copyright. It allows copyrighted materials to be used without permission from copyright holders in certain circumstances, depending on the nature of the work being used, the purpose of the use, how much of the work is being used and the effect that the use would have on the market or value of the copyrighted work. Fair use is essential to journalism, entertainment, research and education, permitting commentary, criticism and parody of copyrighted works and encouraging transformative uses of these works to produce new innovation. It is a flexible and adaptable doctrine that can be applied to materials in a variety of media, and fair use establishes a critical balance between the need to protect the owners of original ideas and expressions and their rights and ensuring the freedom of speech and expression under the First Amendment and intellectual freedom.
Fair use is employed by students, academic faculty and librarians on a daily basis in higher education, and Fair Use Week is an opportunity to promote greater understanding of fair use principles, discuss opportunities that the doctrine offers, particularly in the context of post-secondary education and to celebrate successful stories of fair use. For more information please go to: http://fairuseweek.org/