The concept of fair use in intellectual property law

Fair use is a concept in intellectual property law, which mainly refers to the use within the scope of intellectual property protection but does not constitute infringement, and is the restriction and balance of exclusive rights in intellectual property law. This concept is embodied in different intellectual property systems, such as compulsory license in patent law, post-use in trademark law and free citation in copyright law.

Various intellectual property laws stipulate the scope and conditions of fair use. For example, in the patent law, fair use means that under certain conditions, in order to solve major national problems, promote technological progress or meet public interests, a compulsory license or exclusive right restriction can be imposed on a patent without the authorization of the patentee. Fair use in copyright law refers to reasonably quoting or copying a part of a work for specific purposes such as education, scientific research and news reporting with the permission of the copyright owner, which does not constitute infringement.

The concept of fair use is mainly to balance the relationship between intellectual property protection and social public interests, to allow the use of intellectual property rights to be restricted under certain conditions, and to promote public interests and economic and social development. At the same time, fair use should also pay attention to and respect the legitimate rights and interests of intellectual property rights holders and avoid excessive use and abuse of the concept of fair use.