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
The Story Continues This legal and ethical debate will likely persist, affecting the emerging data economy with a focus on data provenance, fair use, and transparent licensing.
—
Douglas B. Laney, Forbes.com, 29 June 2025
If anything, the Meta ruling confirms a worrying truth: that the law’s current conception of fair use isn’t built for AI—it’s being bent around it.
—Aron Solomon
june 27, Literary Hub, 27 June 2025
The complaint against Microsoft came a day after a California federal judge ruled that Anthropic made fair use under U.S. copyright law of authors' material to train its AI systems but may still be liable for pirating their books.
—Blake Brittain, USA Today, 26 June 2025
Meta’s use of these titles is protected under copyright law’s fair use provision, San Francisco district judge Vince Chhabria ruled.
—Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 26 June 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.
Douglas B. Laney, Forbes.com, 29 June 2025
If anything, the Meta ruling confirms a worrying truth: that the law’s current conception of fair use isn’t built for AI—it’s being bent around it.
—Aron Solomon
june 27, Literary Hub, 27 June 2025
The complaint against Microsoft came a day after a California federal judge ruled that Anthropic made fair use under U.S. copyright law of authors' material to train its AI systems but may still be liable for pirating their books.
—Blake Brittain, USA Today, 26 June 2025
Meta’s use of these titles is protected under copyright law’s fair use provision, San Francisco district judge Vince Chhabria ruled.
—Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 26 June 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 5 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share