It's not quite that Simple
- The "Fairness" result this tool provides is only a mathematical average of your own evaluations for each factor. It does not mean your use is fair.
- Fair use scholars have long noted that "the four factors fail to drive the analysis" in the courts’ decisions. Rather, they "serve as convenient pegs on which to hang antecedent conclusions"*
- Analyses of court cases suggests that the factors are not always given equal billing, with Purpose, Amount and Effect often given more weight than Nature
*See: Nimmer, David. "Fairest of them all" and other Fairy
Tales of Fair Use." Law and Contemporary Problems
66(263) (2003): 263-287.
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Most copyright scholars support the
practice of considering the 4 factors
holistically,
rather than in isolation and in equal measure (as
this tool does for its color-coded results)
- For this reason, the makers of this tool strongly suggest that you do not base your final fair use judgment on the simplified color-coded results this tool provides
- The color-coded results simply represent the mathematical average of your own evaluations for each factor
- Consider these results only as a general indicator of fairness, which should always be validated by considering all factors holistically
