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Fair Use Limit  Fair use guidelines clearly limit the amount of copyrighted materials that students, scholars, and educators may use in multimedia projects. The two guidelines that are most often abused are for music and video. When using these media, be sure to follow these guidelines:    

• Music - 10 % or 30 seconds of a song (whichever is less)
• Video - 10% or 3 minutes of a video (whichever is less)

The condition "whichever is less" is important. For example, if a song lasts three minutes (180 seconds), only 18 seconds of it may be used, because in this case, 10% of the song "is less" than 30 seconds. So, to use the maximum length of 30 seconds, you need to generate lists of songs that are at least five minutes long. To make the most of the clips you're allowed to use, check out sound software such as Sonic Foundry, which enables users to find sections at the beginning and end of a clip that will connect nicely into a loop.  Those segments can be looped continuously and played as background music.

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Legitimate Copy  Another factor to remember when seeking media clips is to use a legitimate, "lawfully acquired" copy of a song or video. Using an MP3 clip found online doesn't constitute legal use.

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Warning Label   Place a warning label prominently at the beginning of a project. The label should state something to the effect that "the audio and video clips in this presentation are used under fair use guidelines and are restricted from further use." (There are no guidelines as to specific wording for this label.

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Specific Credit   Credit for specific clips should be listed in a bibliography or "mediagraphy" at the end of a project. Be sure to include the copyright symbol, the year the media was first published, and the name of the copyright owner.