Pitch Dictionary by pitch.dog
Copyright, authorship & moral rights · Core

Fair use

ELI5

A U.S. doctrine allowing some unlicensed uses of copyrighted material after a fact-specific legal analysis.

Used in conversation

“Has legal checked fair use for this version of the agreement?”

Pitch context

You may encounter “Fair use” in rights, contracts, finance, distribution & labour conversations or materials.

Why it matters: Explains who controls, pays for, approves, exploits or bears risk around a project.

Caution

Meaning and consequences may change by contract, collective agreement, territory or law. This entry is orientation, not legal advice.

Connected terms

  • Archive clearanceA legal exception may sometimes apply, but it is not the same as obtaining a licence.
  • Fair dealingBoth are copyright exceptions, but fair use is an open US test and fair dealing is a more category-based doctrine in several other jurisdictions.
Sources & evidence · 8

Supporting source families. This entry is an editorial synthesis rather than a quotation from one canonical glossary.