The Real Israelites

Section 107 of the Copyright Act provides a legal defense of fair use, allowing limited use of copyrighted material without permission for purposes like criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. To determine if a use is fair, courts balance four factors: the purpose and character of the use (commercial vs. non-profit educational), the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount and substantiality of the portion used, and the effect of the use on the potential market for or value of the original work.