Fair Use: The Secrets No One Tells You

The “secrets” identified and discussed in this book are actually aspects of fair use that are either not widely recognized or not widely discussed. Understanding these facets of the fair use doctrine will help readers understand this often complex and heavily nuanced part of copyright law at a new level, thereby empowering readers in their ability to apply and rely on fair use in their daily lives.

Fair use in copyright has always been a necessary tool for educators and librarians. However, fair use has never been more important than it is today, as we move more and more fully into an electronic information environment. We – society as a whole, not only librarians and educators – must increasingly rely on fair use, because we so often have no specific law addressing the ever-changing situations we encounter on a daily basis.

The greater your fair use skills are, the more likely you are to take advantage of this right that has been granted to you by copyright law, and the more your students and users will benefit from it, as the law itself intends.

Although fair use is available to anyone, this book is written with educators (at all levels) and librarians in mind. That said, anyone who relies on fair use, or simply wants to understand it at a deeper level, will benefit from reading the book, so don’t be deterred by the repeated references to the education environment.

This book is not a general guide to fair use. Rather, in this book, the author presents multiple points about fair use that she believes are necessary to grasp in order to have a robust understanding and mastery of fair use, but that are most often overlooked or misunderstood.