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Applied ResearchInternational Fair Use?TyAnna K. HerringtonAbstractPurpose: The purpose of this article is to examine pertinent issues regarding theneed for a fair use structure in international intellectual property agreements.Method: The issues in this article were examined using a scholarly methodologybased on legal research and applied analysis and application to the technicalcommunication field.Results: The findings are that fair use cannot be employed in international intellectualproperty treaty development because, to operate, it must retain its necessaryconnection to the U.S. Constitution’s goals and policy.Conclusion: International intellectual property law treaty development shouldincorporate humanistic guidelines that accommodate fair use goals based on universalrights.Keywords: fair use, intellectual property, international law, international humanistictreatmentPractitioner’sTakeaway• The existence or absence of fairuse concepts that affect productdevelopment in internationalwork venues affects technicalcommunication practitioners.• Technical communicationpractitioners should be aware of thedifferences between legal treatmentsof intellectual property that containfair use principles and those that donot.• As international intellectualproperty treaties exist today,technical communicators workingin international venues cannotexpect fair use access to intellectualproducts in support of democraticinteraction.• Technical communicationpractitioners can use their influenceto support the development of afair use structure in internationalvenues.IntroductionTechnical communicators are aware that increasedinternational business and academic collaborationhas had a broad effect on communication methodsand product development. But as international accessand collaboration have developed, so has the law thatinfluences intellectual product access and protection,and the changes in this area may not be obvious.As international law has adapted to allow increasedintellectual product trade and development, scholarsin intellectual property law have begun to discuss theneed for a fair use structure in international intellectualproperty. The work of technical communicators willVolume 57, Number 3, August 2010 l Technical Communication 319