Fair use

• American laws recognize a limitation on the exclusive rights of copyright holders through the concept of fair use. In terms of making personal copies, individuals should be protected when making personal copies for such reasons as research, scholarship or teaching purposes.
  
  

Limitations on fair use

• Even fair use has its limitations and owners of copyrights can argue that even seemingly protected personal uses are illegal based on such factors as the "purpose and character of the use" and the commercial impact of the use, according to title 17, section 107 of the United States Code. What that fully means isn't completely settled in the law.
  
  

RIAA

• The RIAA has worked hard to prevent the personal copying of copyrighted music. Along with law suits against companies that brought together individuals so that they could trade music, the music industry has also sued individuals for downloading music for free.
  
  

Comparative look

• Other countries differ greatly in their approach to personal use. On the one hand, Canada has been very liberal in allowing individuals to copy for personal use, while Australian law tends to lean toward copyright holders by limiting the scope of fair use.
  
  

Law is changeable

• While fair use is one way to put limitations on copyright, it is not necessarily the only way. Congress is free to set laws to expand and limit the control of copyright holders.