Does file-sharing qualify as a fair use of copyrighted materials?
Not in most circumstances. Some people believe that file-sharing constitutes a “fair use” of copyrighted materials. Fair use use is a defense to copyright infringement which applies in certain limited situations. Although it is possible that some situations involving file-sharing might be fair use (for example, if I used a file-sharing service to download a song in one of the copyright law classes I teach for the sole purpose of educating students about copyright and file-sharing), the vast majority of file-sharing would not. Although fair use is a very complicated area of copyright law, in general it applies when a limited portion of a copyrighted work is used for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research. File-sharing, on the other hand, is most commonly used solely for entertainment purposes. Some people also believe that it is fair use to make copies of a recording you own for personal use. Although this may be true, it is difficult to
