Accepted Answer

The question is whether your use of the lyrics is a "fair use," which is one of the most confusing and inconsistent areas of copyright law. Also, it appears this fact pattern has never come up, because I did a search for the words "copyright" and "crossword puzzle" in a database containing all state and federal cases and found no cases.

But use of lyrics can easily get you in trouble. Karaoke, for example, requires payment of royalties for songs used. Similarly, if a writer is writing an unauthorized biography of a famous artist and wants to reprint excerpts from lyrics by the artist, the biographer probably cannot do this under the guise of fair use, however. At least it is certain that the famous artist will be able to make a strong case against a finding of fair use.

Since there are no cases involving crossword puzzle, the best I can do is to tell you that, to determine whether a particular use is a fair use in a given case, the court will consider the following four factors:

1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes

2. The nature of the copyrighted work

3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole

4. The effect of the use on the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work

How those apply in any given case is subject to reams of case law.

Edited by Joseph Leon on 2/1/2009 at 3:09 AM

Expert:	Joseph Leon
Pos. Feedback:	100.0 %
Accepts:
Answered:	2/1/2009

IP Attorney

General practitioner, including non-scientific IP; practiced 15 years; licensed in 4 states.