fair use

noun

: a legal doctrine that portions of copyrighted materials may be used without permission of the copyright owner provided the use is fair and reasonable, does not substantially impair the value of the materials, and does not curtail the profits reasonably expected by the owner

Examples of fair use in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Outcome: Wrong Nearly three dozen lawsuits are underway in the United States today on the issue of whether generative AI models trained on internet data represent a violation of copyright, or conversely are protected by the fair use doctrine. Rob Toews, Forbes, 8 Dec. 2024 These models are being trained on the content of artists absent their permission, commercialized by companies targeting the very same end markets from which those artists make their living, and clearly striking against the first and fourth criteria of fair use. Craig Peters, Fortune, 2 Dec. 2024 Our models are trained on publicly available data, grounded in fair use and related international copyright principles that are fair for creators and support innovation. Greg Evans, Deadline, 29 Nov. 2024 The success of fair use hinges on how much copying took place, the purpose of the copying, whether the copying transformed the original work into something new and the extent to which the copying hurt sales of the original work. Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 21 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for fair use 

Word History

First Known Use

1847, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of fair use was in 1847

Dictionary Entries Near fair use

Cite this Entry

“Fair use.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fair%20use. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.

Legal Definition

fair use

see use sense 2

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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