Fair of Free Use of Copyrighted Materials in Education and Research and the Limit of Such Use

The concept of fair use, fair dealing, or free use of copyrighted works
for education and research is incorporated in copyright laws around the
world. This is to strike a balance between the private interests of copyright
holders and the public interests of students and researchers to use the copyrighted materials in furthering their knowledge. While fair and free use of
copyrighted materials for the purpose of study and research is favored and
permitted under copyright laws almost everywhere in the world, the limit of
such use is not clearly defined in these laws. This Article will attempt to
determine the permissible limit for copying copyrighted materials without
paying fees to or asking permission from copyright holders in light of the
existing legal provisions and case law from around the world. To do so, this
Article will first analyze the national and international legal provisions related to copyright exception for education and research. The Article will then
analyze various conditions and factors and their relative importance to determine generally how much copying of copyrighted materials for education
and research would be allowed without permission or license fees. While this
Article concludes that it is impossible to clearly define the precise permissible limit of fair and free use, this Article recommends for a liberal interpretation of fair and free use exception especially when such use is for education
and research.