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

At this stage of the litigation, OpenAI and Microsoft bear the burden of proving that their conduct constitutes fair use, which turns on a four-factor balancing test. — Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2026

However, a Microsoft spokesperson defended Microsoft’s AI products as a transformative fair use that don’t substitute for news sites. — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 17 Sep. 2026

This Unlimited plan adds unlimited monthly messages under a fair use policy, priority access to new features and models, and support for unlimited devices. — New Atlas, 1 Sep. 2026

The first case was settled out of court, with the artist denying allegations and claiming fair use through her legal representative. — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 25 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1847, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for fair use

• abstruse
• abuse
• adduce
• atreus
• caboose
• cayuse
• conduce
• deduce
• diffuse
• disuse
• excuse
• footloose

Legal Definition

fair use

see also:

use sense 2