• Some might consider fair use laws a severe and limiting factor on a copyright holder's rights of exclusivity.Copyright. image by Blue Moon from Fotolia.com
  
  Fair use laws in book publishing are codes of conduct that relate to the use of the written work of one author by another author without being required to seek permission for the use. Some might consider fair use laws a severe and limiting factor on a copyright holder's rights of exclusivity. Section 107 of the Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S. Code) provides further guidance on fair use by presenting four criteria upon which to judge use as fair: purpose, nature of the original work, amount and substance of work used, and infringement.
  
  

Purpose

• The purpose of the use is considered to be fair if the original book has been significantly revised and used in such a fashion that it now caters to another group or audience. Likewise, the purpose is deemed fair if the work will be used for educational, nonprofit use. The purpose of the use of copyrighted work is not fair if it is just copied as is and is not copied to be a part of a new work.
  
  

Nature of the Original Work

• If the copyright on the original book has expired, or the nature of the book is seen to be factual or historical, its use is considered fair. But, if the work is unpublished or is more expressive or artistic in nature, its use would not be categorized as fair use.
  
  

Amount and Substance of Work Used

• Generally, an extended amount of published and unpublished materials are available for reproduction under the Fair Use Laws. These include a chapter from a book, an article from a magazine or newspaper, a poem, a short story or a chart, a graph, a diagram or an illustration. For each copied work, mention must be made of the individual source and author. A good rule of the thumb is the more you copy, the greater the probability that you are stepping outside the Fair Use Laws. With that being said, there are no specified numbers of words, lines or paragraphs that can be taken from an author's work without permission.
  
  

Infringement

• Infringement refers to the impact that the new work has on the original work's market value. If the new work does not differ much from the original copyrighted work, this would be viewed as an infringement. If the new work is marketed to an entirely different audience or contains a substantial amount of new material, this would be viewed as fair use and not infringement.
  
  The U.S. Copyright Office can assist you in locating an author if you are seeking permission to use an author's work for commercial purposes. Failure to do so could result in a law suit.