Link: What is Fair Use?

Title 17 of the USC speaks of fair use as follows:

107. Limitations on exclusive rights:Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factorsto be considered shall include —(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or isfor nonprofit educational purposes;(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors. [4]

Quoting entirely from a blog I just came across:
http://whatisfairuse.blogspot.com/

“In connection with Peter Friedman’s Legal Analysis & Writing Course at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, the students are writing cross-motions for summary judgment in a fictional lawsuit brought by ASCAP and the owners of the copyright to “Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be).”
The Plaintiffs (represented by half of my students) allege infringement of their copyright in Que Sera, Sera by the KLF, the creators of a recording entitled “K Cera Cera.”
K Cera Cera (mp3) purports to be a recording of the Red Army Choir singing an amalgam of Que Sera, Sera and John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Happy Xmas (the War is Over). The Defendants also include Arista Records, the U.S. distributor of K Cera Cera, and Arista’s corporate parent, Sony BMG. The second half of my students, of course, represents the Defendants.”