Category 4: Employing archival material in historical or biographical sequences

In the American Experience documentary "Citizen King," Orlando Bagwell used a central portion of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, in which the King estate claims copyright. He claimed fair use because the section was historically crucial and the King estate had refused to license the material to the American Experience producer, public TV station WGBH.

In Giuliani Time, Williams Cole quoted contemporary newspapers, magazines and news broadcasts, illustrating Rudy Giuliani's skill at commanding press attention. Cole employed fair use because he made limited use of archival materials to illustrate a specific historical observation.

In "Karl Rove - The Architect," a PBS Frontline program, Michael Kirk wanted to show that Karl Rove had a lifelong interest in electoral strategies, and quotes a 1973 CBS news segment without licensing it.

Kirk successfully employed fair use because this primary document was proof of a point in the documentary. His use was similar to a historian's quotes of primary sources in print.

When Jed Riffe examined an archeological controversy in Who Owns the Past?, he quoted magazines and a 60 Minutes program in reference to the historical moment of discovery of ancient remains.

He employed fair use because these quotes illustrated the reaction of the press at that historical moment.