"In its most general sense, a fair use is any copying of copyrighted material done for a limited and “transformative” purpose, such as to comment upon, criticize, or parody a copyrighted work. Such uses can be done without permission from the copyright owner. In other words, fair use is a defense against a claim of copyright infringement. If your use qualifies as a fair use, then it would not be considered an infringement." by Rich Stim at the Stanford Copyright and Fair Use Center. Fair Use is codified as one of the “Limitations on exclusive rights” of copyright owners at 17 U.S. Code § 107.

WMU Libraries follows fair use and copyright practices. For more information, please see WMU Libraries' Copyright Policies for Reserves and Fair Use Check List. WMU Libraries offers this Fair Use Checklist as part of its general copyright information on this site. The information presented is not a substitute for legal advice obtained from a licensed attorney.

Please see WMU’s Office of Information Technology's Copyright and Ethics Policies and Statements for further information about copyright matters.