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
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.
Pratt also disagreed with DraftKings that its use of the terminology was protected by fair use. Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 26 Mar. 2026 The framework aims to protect intellectual property while still allowing AI to improve through fair use. Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 24 Mar. 2026 The New York Times filed a lawsuit in 2023 claiming OpenAI used millions of its articles without permission and that its large language model ChatGPT was in some cases regurgitating entire Times articles, potentially striking a blow to OpenAI’s fair use argument. Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 19 Mar. 2026 Or, a startup that mined a carmaker’s blueprints and claimed fair use. Gerard Scimeca, Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for fair use

Word History

First Known Use

1847, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of fair use was in 1847

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Cite this Entry

“Fair use.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fair%20use. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.

Legal Definition

fair use

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