Fair Use Fundamentals

"Copyright law is a carefully balanced system meant to encourage creativity as well as cultural and scientific progress. The law encourages authors by giving them limited control over certain uses of their works, and it encourages everyone (including authors) to use existing cultural and scientific material without permission, under certain circumstances, to engage in a wide variety of vital activities. Many parts of the law favor the freedom to use culture, but by far and away the most flexible, powerful, and universal user’s right is fair use. As you’ll see below: fair use is a right, fair use is vitally important, fair use is for everyone, and fair uses are everywhere."