Understanding Fair Use by John Savage, Esq. Fair use is a significant issue when determining, for example, how much of a poem or song lyric we can quote in our stories or novels without running afoul of the Copyright Demons. This article is intended to introduce writers to the concepts of fair use, but it is no substitute for a lawyer. Keep in mind, though, that the dogs and ogres are still there. And they will bite if you don't pay attention, stick to the front walk and porch, and keep that dart gun loaded.
Fair use applies to any copyrighted property.
This article concerns fair use of the verbal component of a property. There are significantly different rules for nonverbal properties, such as still frames from movies, songs as performed, photographs, and so on. A couple of examples should make this clearer. In Campbell v. The Supreme Court sent the case back to the trial court, which had originally decided that the parody was a fair use.