The Fair Use Myth That Gets Authors Sued

Most authors think fair use is their safety net. It's not — and I'm going to show you exactly what the U.S. Copyright Office says about it in plain English. After my last video on publishing permissions sparked hundreds of comments, one dangerous misconception kept coming up again and again: "But isn't that fair use?" In this video, I'm going to answer that — directly — using the actual law. In this video you'll learn: • What Copyright.gov actually says about fair use (the exact language — not rumors) • What major publishers post on their own websites about using their content • The most common fair use myths from YOUR comments — answered one by one • The 4-factor test courts use to determine fair use — and why most authors don't qualify Fair use is a legal defense, not a permission slip. Knowing the difference could protect your book, your reputation, and your wallet before you ever hit publish. Resources mentioned: Legal info for intellectual Properties: http://www.rightsofwriters.com Fair Use clauses from major universities: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/te... http://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/... Websites I looked at in this video: https://www.harpercollinschristian.co... https://hachettebookgroup.formstack.c... https://us.macmillan.com/fsg/rightsan... https://www.harpercollinschristian.co... https://www.zondervan.com/about-us/pe... Chapters in this video: 00:00 Introduction 01:48 What the US Copyright Website Really Says about Fair Use 05:41 What Publishers Actually Say About Fair Use of Their Books 10:47 Fair Use Q&A1 - What about fair use and online articles? 12:09 Fair Use Q&A 2 - Is Fair Use only for reviews of a work? 12:44 Fair Use Q&A 3 - Is mentioning a store or brand name fair use? 15:20 Fair Use Comment - Even things that seem okay for fair use might not be safe 16:08 Fair Use Comment - Other countries are even more restrictive 17:56 Fair Use Misunderstanding 1 - It's Fair Use under a certain percent 18:25 Fair Use Misunderstanding 2 - It's fine to quote song lyrics 19:11 Fair Use Misunderstanding 3 - All Bible Versions can be freely used everywhere 19:53 Fair Use Misunderstanding 4 - Small attributed quotes are okay 20:04 Fair Use Misunderstanding 5 - It's okay to talk about brands if it's not negative 20:59 Fair Use Misunderstanding 6 - Ethan Klein vs Denems Case will change fair use 21:45 Learn more from Harbor Light Content Group 📥 Download our free Publishing Path Guide by signing up for our email list: https://harborlightcontentgroup.com/ Harbor Light Content Group is led by Andy and Cathy Sanders. If you're trying to figure out whether self-publishing, hybrid publishing, or traditional publishing is right for you — you're in the right place. 📩 Have a publishing question? Leave it in the comments or email: [email protected] 🔔 Subscribe for weekly videos on: • Book Publishing • Writing • Editing • AI and Publishing • Book Marketing • Publishing Industry Insights #FairUse #BookCopyright #PublishingPermissions #SelfPublishing #CopyrightLaw #AuthorTips #HarborLight #HowToPublishABook