But what about “fair use”?

Fair Use is a principle under US copyright law that allows a person to use a copyrighted work without the permission of the copyright owner under very limited circumstances. 

Fair use is limited to very specific purposes, including: news/reporting, criticism, comment, teaching, scholarship, or research, that serve the public interest.

While there are four factors, listed below, balanced by juries and courts in determining whether a use is fair, no one factor is determinative:

1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether the use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes. 
2. The nature of the copyrighted work. 
3. The amount and substantiality of the portion of copyrighted material taken
4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. 

There are many misconceptions about fair use. For example, using copyrighted material for humorous purposes (such as satire) is not fair use – only parodies where the original copyrighted work itself is being mocked is. Using a copyrighted work for non-commercial purposes, such as on your personal social media, is also not fair use. 

Generally, most use of the copyrighted material of another without permissions is not fair use under copyright law.