Parody

One consideration in fair use analysis is whether a use constitutes a parody. Parody is a form of "criticism" or "comment," which aligns with the fair use examples provided in Section 107. Parody, in the context of copyright law, has been defined as "the use of some elements of a prior author's composition to create a new one that, at least in part, comments on that author's works” (Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, 510 U.S. 569, 580 (1994)).

The following are two case examples; in the first, the use constituted a parody, and subsequently was determined to be a fair use. In the second, the use was determined to not constitute a parody and fair use was not found.

Parody
Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, 510 U.S. 569 (1994)
2 Live Crew created a hip-hop song based on Roy Orbison's rock ballad "Oh, Pretty Woman." The new hip-hop song was found to be a parody because it used elements of the prior work to comment on the original. Ultimately, fair use was found.

Not a Parody
Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. v. ComicMix LLC, 256 F.Supp.3d 1099 (S.D. Cal. 2017)
Defendants created a book called "Oh, the Places You’ll Boldly Go!," which combined aspects of Dr. Seuss’s works with elements from Star Trek. The book was found to not be a parody, but rather a “mash-up” that combined Dr. Seuss's style with Star Trek’s tropes. Ultimately, fair use was not found.