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.
And in July, Trump gave his verdict, which is that uploading is always fair use, and this might have an impact on how the Supreme Court rules on this issue. Schuyler Moore, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025 One likely defense is fair use, meaning its use of Russell’s mark doesn’t rise to infringement. Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 13 Aug. 2025 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 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 20 Aug. 2025.

Legal Definition

fair use

see use sense 2

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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