- FAIR USE is a legal concept that allows for exceptions to copyright and is available in copyright laws and supported by international copyright conventions.
- The exception allows for the use of a limited amount of protected material under certain conditions, without first obtaining permission from the copyright owner.
- Fair use is described in the UAE Federal Law No. 7 of 2002 Concerning Copyrights and Neighboring Rights (Article 22.8) and allows for teachers to copy, quote, scan, clip short extracts of copyrighted material in preparing and delivering classes. The use of the material should not infringe the moral or economic rights of the owner, and should be limited and specific to the purpose of use.
- International conventions support the fair and free use of protected material for the advancement of knowledge and is specifically covered in the Berne Convention (Protection of Literary and Artistic Works) of which UAE is a signatory nation.
- Fair use is always decided on a case by case basis and should be determined by the user of the protected work.
- The following four factors provided by the USA's Copyright law (U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101 et seq.) may be used as a guideline to evaluate fair use:
- The purpose and character of the proposed use
- The nature of the work being used
- The amount and portion of the work being used
- The effect of the use on the potential market for the copyrighted work
- A checklist provided by the University of Columbia describes each criteria and is recommended to help assess fair use.
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Other exceptions to copyright law available in the US legal system, specifically Face-to-Face Teaching, the TEACH Act, and the Agreement on Guidelines from Classroom Copying are not described in UAE copyright law.
