What is the relationship of your selected material to the work as a whole?:
If you're reviewing a book, and use a paragraph out of the entire novel as a quoted reference, it would likely meet this "copyright fair use" test. If you tried to use a whole chapter, it likely would not.
For what purpose are you using the copyrighted material?:
Is your use one of instruction, or perhaps a non-profit publication. If you're using copyrighted material to make a profit, it could likely get you into trouble and not qualify for the "fair use" defense.
What is the Type or Nature of the Copyrighted Work?:
This consideration is broad and subjective. Are you quoting from a government document, a popular novel, or a competing publication in your field. This could have a direct bearing on how the court would view your use of the material.
How Will Your Use of the Material Impact the Market for the Copyrighted Work?:
If you use parts of a copyrighted work and that use cuts into the sales of the original work, this would be a problem. Or perhaps your use has a negative impact on the image of the original work, there could also be an issue.
Before You Use Any Content from a Copyrighted Work, Be Sure You're Covered:
The "fair use" defense in a charge of copyright infringement isn't always easy to prove. It's best that all your printed or internet materials are original, as it's not a slam-dunk to try and use the fair use defense.
This is going to be a larger issue in the huge growth of blogging and web sites. There are possibly thousands of violations daily by those who take images or text from a web site or blog and post it on another. If you're in doubt and want to use copyrighted content, ask permission with a detailed explanation of how it's to be used.
