Attorney Steve® Copyright Fair Use Lawyer - Transformative explained.  Call us at (877) 276-5084 to discuss fair use opinion letters for creators, or copyright litigation.

Introduction

If you transform a copyrighted piece of content into SOMETHING NEW you may have a strong argument for "fair use" which, if it applies, you would not be deemed a copyright infringement.  But this is not always an easy analysis.  Here is some information and case law that may help you make that often difficult determination.

Attorney Steve® Tip:  Click here to learn about 22 things you can do to make a third-party clip "transformative" improving your chances of fair use.

Here are some legal cases for you to review:

A “transformative” use is “a copying use that adds something new and important.” See Google, 141 S. Ct. at 1203

Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., 510 U.S. 569, 579 (1994)).

“There is little transformative about copying the entirety or large portions of a work verbatim.” Nihon Keizai Shimbun, 166 F.3d at 72.

“Excessive copying precludes fair use.” Walt Disney Prods. v. Air Pirates, 581 F.2d 751, 758 (9th Cir. 1978)