The fair use doctrine in the digital age: Reassessing the balance between creators' rights and public access
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Oct 30, 2025
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Creator's Rights, Digital Copyright, Fair Use, Public Access, Transformation Use
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Abstract
This paper critically reassesses the application and efficacy of the Fair Use doctrine within the contemporary Digital Age, noting that the rise of generative AI and mass digitization has amplified friction between Creator's Rights and the need for Public Access. This study employs a normative legal research methodology, integrating doctrinal analysis with critical policy evaluation by focusing on U.S. statutory provisions and analyzing landmark rulings concerning Digital Copyright. The main finding is that the conventional, four-factor balancing test is frequently inadequate in assessing modern cases, particularly those involving Transformation Use, as it fails to provide predictable standards. The academic contribution is the proposal of a refined analytical framework for the doctrine, aiming to re-establish the crucial balance between adequately compensating creators while actively fostering innovation and robust Public Access in an increasingly digitized information environment.
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How to Cite
Ramadhani, M. (2025). The fair use doctrine in the digital age: Reassessing the balance between creators’ rights and public access. Journal of Law Science, 7(4), 733-742. https://doi.org/10.35335/jls.v7i4.6749
References
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Andanni, A. P., & Santoso, B. (2025). Perlindungan Hukum Terhadap Pelanggaran Karya Cipta yang Dihasilkan Melalui AI dan dikomersilkan Berdasarkan Undang-Undang Nomor 28 Tahun 2014 tentang Hak Cipta. Jurnal Ilmu Hukum, Humaniora Dan Politik (JIHHP), 5(3).
Aufderheide, P., & Jaszi, P. (2024). Reclaiming fair use: How to put balance back in copyright. University of Chicago Press.
Bellt, A., & Parchomovskytt, G. (2016). The Dual-Grant Theory of Fair Use. The University of Chicago Law Review, 83(3), 1051–1118. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43913850
Boyle, J. (2008). Enclosing the Commons of the Mind. Yale University Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1npvzg
Camargo Salamanca, S., Oliveri, M. E., & Zenisky, A. L. (2025). Advancing Good Practices In a global, Digital Future: ITC/ATP Guidelines for Technology-Based Assessment. International Journal of Testing, 25(2), 194–211.
Chesterman, S. (2025). Good Models Borrow, Great Models Steal: Intellectual Property Rights and Generative AI. Policy and Society, 44(1), 23–37.
Craig, C., & Kerr, I. (2025). The Death of The AI Author. In Robot Law: Volume II (pp. 250–285). Edward Elgar Publishing.
De la Durantaye, K. (2025). Control and Compensation. A Comparative Analysis Of Copyright Exceptions For Training Generative AI. IIC-International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law, 56(4), 737–770.
Demirci, O., Hannane, J., & Zhu, X. (2025). Who is AI replacing? The Impact of Generative AI on Online Freelancing Platforms. Management Science.
Didsbury, H., & Zhu, X. A. (2025). Transformative Training: An Analysis of AI Training Data And Fair Use In Authors Guild V. Openai Inc. Publishing Research, 4(1).
Ding, T., & Yang, L. (2025). Intellectual Property Protection And Corporate Digital Transformation: An Empirical Analysis From The Perspectives of Intellectual Property Protection And Digital Governance. International Review of Economics & Finance, 104125.
Dratler Jr, J., & McJohn, S. M. (2025). Intellectual Property Law: Commercial, Creative And Industrial Property. Law Journal Press.
Eyo-Udo, N. L., Apeh, C. E., Bristol-Alagbariya, B., Udeh, C. A., & Ewim, C. P.-M. (2025). International Trade Law in the Modern World: A Review of Evolving Practices and Agreements.
Fahleni, D. Y., Ridlwan, Z., & Wierma, R. (2025). Perbandingan Pengaturan Hak cipta Digital: DMCA Section 512 dan 1201 VS UU No. 28 Tahun 2014. Al-Zayn: Jurnal Ilmu Sosial & Hukum, 3(3), 1758–1763.
Fontana, A. G. (2025). Intellectual Property Protection In The Era Of Artificial Intelligence And The Problem Of Generative Platforms. The Journal of World Intellectual Property.
Gorwa, R. (2024). The Politics Of Platform Regulation: How Governments Shape Online Content Moderation. Oxford University Press.
Habibi, M., & Sujadmiko, B. (2025). Tinjauan Yuridis tentang Doktrin Fair Use dalam Undang-Undang Hak Cipta Indonesia dan Implikasinya terhadap Pengembangan Software. Jurnal Hukum Lex Generalis, 6(4).
Hampole, M., Papanikolaou, D., Schmidt, L. D. W., & Seegmiller, B. (2025). Artificial Intelligence and The Labor Market. National Bureau of Economic Research.
Hasan, D. M. M., Alam, M. S., Hossain, S., & Gomes, D. (2024). Fair Use Policies of Digital Contents: Some Observations and Recommendations. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Computing Advancements, 192–199.
Lin, Y., & Guan, T. (2025). From Safe Harbours to AI Harbours: Reimagining DMCA Immunity For The Generative AI Era. Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, 20(9), 605–616. https://doi.org/10.1093/jiplp/jpaf043
Manurung, O. P. M., & Simamora, J. (2025). Protecting Intellectual Property Rights in The Digital Revolution: Ministry of Law’s Role Reviewed. Journal Customary Law, 2(2), 7.
Mayana, R. F., Santika, T., & Win, Y. Y. (2022). Educational Fair Use & Digital Learning: Comparative Study Between Indonesia & Myanmar. Litigasi, 23(2), 217–233. https://doi.org/10.23969/litigasi.v23i2.5181
Morganti, P., & Valdes, R. C. (2025). Toward Fair Futures? Digital Transformation and Income Disparities in the Era of Industry 5.0. In Digital Transformation and Innovation in Organizations: A Latin American Perspective (pp. 45–76). Springer.
Netanel, N. (2008). Introduction, Copyright’s Paradox. UCLA School of Law Public Law & Legal Theory Research Paper Series Research Paper No. 08-06.
Ortega, S. (2023). The Digital Millennium Copyright Act-In Need of a Major Software Update. Mich. Bus. & Entrepreneurial L. Rev., 12, 75.
Pham, T. (2025). Ethical and Legal Considerations in Healthcare AI: Innovation and Policy For Safe and Fair Use. In Royal Society Open Science (Vol. 12, Issue 5). Royal Society Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.241873
Priancha, A. (2025). Reforming Copyright For The Participative Web: Balancing Creator Rights And User Creativity. Masalah-Masalah Hukum. Institute of Research and Community Services Diponegoro University (LPPM UNDIP), 54(1), 25–36.
Quintais, J. P. (2025). Generative AI, copyright and The AI Act. Computer Law & Security Review, 56, 106107. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clsr.2025.106107
Rahman, I., Sibarani, S. Y., Aprianto, S., Paramansyah, A., & Santyaningtyas, A. C. (2024). Protecting Intellectual Property in The Digital Age With A Law. Journal of Research in Social Science and Humanities, 4(2), 49–60. https://doi.org/10.47679/jrssh.v4i2.85
Shafik, W. (2025). Generative Artificial Intelligence for Social Good and Sustainable Development. Generative AI: Disruptive Technologies for Innovative Applications, 153–185.
Shen, C. (2024). Fair Use, Licensing, And Authors’ Rights In The Age Of Generative AI. In Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property (Vol. 22). https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/njtip
Stein, K. (2022). Tarleton Gillespie, Custodians of The Internet: Platforms, Content Moderation, and The Hidden Decisions That Shape Social Media. International Journal of Communication, 16, 3.
Yarosewick, G. V. (2025). Protect Authors Not Algorithms: The Rise of Artificial Intelligence and Its Interference with Copyright Law. Widener L. Rev., 31, 203.
You, L., & Luo, H. (2025). Copyright Implications and Legal Responses to AI Training: A Chinese Perspective. Laws, 14(4). https://doi.org/10.3390/laws14040043
Yuan, B., & Li, W. (2025). Legal Infrastructures for Firm Innovation: Effects of Intellectual Property Protection in The Era of Digital Economy. Finance Research Letters, 71, 106343.
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