What is parody's relationship to fair use?

What is parody's relationship to fair use?

• A. Parody is automatically fair use.
• B. Parody is not automatically fair use and must satisfy the fair use test.
• C. Parody is never fair use.
• D. Parody is allowed only with permission from the author.

Answer: (B)

Parody invites a fair-use analysis because it uses elements of a copyrighted work to comment on or critique that work. But it isn’t automatically protected; a parody must still satisfy the fair-use test. Courts weigh four factors: the purpose and character of the use (parody is typically transformative and for critique, which can support fair use), the nature of the original work (creative works weigh against fair use, though parody can still qualify), the amount and substantiality of what is used (only what’s necessary to convey the parody is favored), and the effect on the market for the original (if the parody harms the original’s market, that weighs against fair use). In practice, many parodies are fair use because they transform the original and add new meaning, but there’s no automatic shield simply because something is a parody.

Parody invites a fair-use analysis because it uses elements of a copyrighted work to comment on or critique that work. But it isn’t automatically protected; a parody must still satisfy the fair-use test. Courts weigh four factors: the purpose and character of the use (parody is typically transformative and for critique, which can support fair use), the nature of the original work (creative works weigh against fair use, though parody can still qualify), the amount and substantiality of what is used (only what’s necessary to convey the parody is favored), and the effect on the market for the original (if the parody harms the original’s market, that weighs against fair use). In practice, many parodies are fair use because they transform the original and add new meaning, but there’s no automatic shield simply because something is a parody.