What is fair use of copyrighted materials?

Fair use is a provision of U.S. copyright law which defines the legal but limited use of copyrighted material without permission from the owner. Acceptable forms of fair use are for criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship and research. If you have a questions about whether or not your use of copyrighted works falls under fair use please consult CWI’s copyright decision document.