It seems that I see discussions about fair use that define it differently than I do. Here is what I get from the copyright office in the US (
http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html).
Quote:
Section 107 contains a list of the various purposes for which the reproduction of a particular work may be considered fair, such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Section 107 also sets out four factors to be considered in determining whether or not a particular use is fair:
- The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes
- The nature of the copyrighted work
- The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
- The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work
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As you can see, it's actually limited in its applicability. There are no clear lines as to when something is 'fair use', but the clearest case would be for nonprofit doing education/research/criticism and only copying a few lines from a book.
P.s. it's not really germane to the discussion, but "The nature of the copyrighted work" refers to whether it's generally accepted knowledge (12 inches to a foot) or specific to the work (Luke and Leia are siblings).