Is there a bright line between fair use and copyright infringement?
While certain activities are without question a violation of copyright law, many activities are in a gray area where liability might only be determined on a case-by-case basis in a court of law. In addition, many of the major copyright cases have involved for-profit companies and a level of copyright violation that would have significantly affected the financial status of a copyright owner. However, since litigation is a time-consuming and expensive process, it may be best for a library to err on the side of conservatism in copyright matters and be ready to document its good faith efforts on compliance.
