The Fair Use Four: Flexibility in Copyright

Fair Use Week is February 23–27, 2026!

It is a FACT that fair use is a fundamental right of citizens to:

• Be protected by the freedom of speech (First Amendment)
• Be creative and produce transformative works
• Be innovative
• Use already existing cultural and scientific material
• Quote, reference, and cite previous materials of any format

All creativity is a “dialogue,” or an interchange of ideas and inspiration from one artist to another. Fair use is a uniquely American concept; it protects both the original creator and creators who fairly use parts of others’ works. Fair use is a fundamental principle of freedom of expression. And that is the core of creativity (Vitale, 2016).

Read the Bellevue University “Copyright Center” LibGuide and “Copyright Feature: Fair Use Week” blog post