Copyright law has several features that permit quotations from copyrighted works without permission or payment, under certain conditions. Fair use is the most important
of these features. It has been an important part of copyright law for more than 150
years. Where it applies, fair use is a right, not a mere privilege. In fact, as the Supreme
Court has pointed out, fair use keeps copyright from violating the First Amendment. As
copyright protects more works for longer periods than ever before, it makes new creation
harder. As a result, fair use is more important today than ever before.

In fact, the cultural value of copying is so well established that it is written into the social bargain at the heart of copyright law. The bargain is this: we as a society give limited
property rights to creators, to reward them for producing culture; at the same time, we
give other creators the chance to use that same copyrighted material without permission
or payment, in some circumstances. Without the second half of the bargain, we could all
lose important new cultural work just because one person is arbitrary or greedy.