The Future of Fair Use

Despite the warnings of copyright scholars at the turn of the twenty-first century, the future of the fair use doctrine is bright. This essay considers the recent trend of fair use cases and offers specific examples of changes in fair use jurisprudence regarding courts’ use and definitions of transformativeness that belie the earlier doomsday scenarios and suggest instead the promise of further expansion of fair use. These trends should give hope for the future to those who believe a robust fair use doctrine is necessary to keep the proper balance between copyright owners and the public interest.