In addition to being original, a work must be fixed in a tangible form to be protected. For example, while a live presentation is not subject to copyright, the written script or the videotape of the performance is copyrightable. These rights can be owned, transferred, or enforced together or separately. The fair use of a copyrighted work is not an infringement and includes use by reproduction for purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research.
Fair use is a very limited exception.
Because most uses of a work, even for educational or scholarly research, have some commercial and market effects, fair use is usually not applicable. For example, in American Geophysical Union v. Texaco, Inc., the court refused to find fair use where a researcher photocopied eight scholarly journal articles to keep in his files for future reference. The fair use defense is applicable, however, when parody or First Amendment issues are involved. The copyright owner's exclusive right to control the distribution of a particular copy of a work is eliminated once that copy is sold. In other words, an individual who purchases a copyrighted work is free to give or sell that particular work to another without the consent of the copyright owner.