Fair Use

Abstract

Intellectual property legislation has continuously redefined the balance between the interests of stakeholders, especially the authors of creative works, and the users of the works. The contemporary balance of legal, technical, social, political, and economical interests has typically been formulated into the copyright law stating the limits of the exclusive rights of the authors of creative works and the exceptions to the exclusive rights, defining the fair use of the works by other stakeholders. National legislation reflects the changes in the surrounding society, its technical development, and so forth, but global technical development and international treaties have harmonized the laws and user expectations to some extent.