fair use
noun
: a legal doctrine that portions of copyrighted materials may be used without permission of the copyright owner provided the use is fair and reasonable, does not substantially impair the value of the materials, and does not curtail the profits reasonably expected by the owner
Examples of fair use in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This approach promotes responsible and fair use of wraps by advertisers while maintaining the event’s creative spirit and distinctive character.
—
Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 July 2025
The viability of fair use as a defense often turns on how much copying took place, the purpose of the copying, whether the copying transformed the original work into something new and the extent to which the copying hurt sales of the original work.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 31 July 2025
But in fact, the judge of that case said the authors probably only lost because their lawyers made the wrong argument about the legal framework of fair use.
—Joseph Gordon-Levitt, HollywoodReporter, 30 July 2025
In the past, Google has offered programs such as Google News Showcase to compensate publishers without undermining its core argument that the copyright doctrine of fair use permits use of their material.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for fair use
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 July 2025
The viability of fair use as a defense often turns on how much copying took place, the purpose of the copying, whether the copying transformed the original work into something new and the extent to which the copying hurt sales of the original work.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 31 July 2025
But in fact, the judge of that case said the authors probably only lost because their lawyers made the wrong argument about the legal framework of fair use.
—Joseph Gordon-Levitt, HollywoodReporter, 30 July 2025
In the past, Google has offered programs such as Google News Showcase to compensate publishers without undermining its core argument that the copyright doctrine of fair use permits use of their material.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for fair use
Cite this Entry
“Fair use.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fair%20use. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share