Fair Use

Fair use is a legal safety valve. Courts weigh purpose, nature, amount, and market effect to decide whether a use should be allowed without a license.

17 U.S.C. § 107 sets a non-exclusive four-factor test: purpose and character of use, nature of the copyrighted work, amount and substantiality used, and effect on the potential market.

Fair use is the main doctrine courts are using to decide whether AI training on copyrighted works is allowed.