is observed annually during the month of February. For 2026, Fair Use Week will be celebrated from February 23-27. What is fair use? Put simply, Fair Use is an exception to copyright laws for educational, journalistic, and research purposes. Copyrighted content can be used for protected purposes without seeking permission or paying the owner. Fair Use protects the user from charges of copyright infringement if the use is appropriate. Celebrating New Additions to Public Domain As of January 1, 2026, a large number of have entered the public domain. These the first four Nancy Drew novels and works by William Faulkner, Bertrand Russel, and art by Piet Mondrian and Sophie Taeuber-Arp. Additional art works, sound recordings, and films have also become available. Anyone can now use these works as raw material for their own creations, without fear of a lawsuit. Entering the public domain is not always straightforward, however: the !