According to fair use guidelines, how many words from a short story can be copied in its entirety?

The fair use guidelines are designed to allow limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the rights holder. For a short story, which is typically considered a creative work, the length of the text that can be copied in its entirety under fair use is generally limited to 1,500 words or less. This limit helps to encourage new expressions and adaptations while balancing the rights of original authors.

Choosing to copy 2,500 words or more significantly exceeds the fair use provision and may infringe on the original author’s copyright. Therefore, 1,500 words accurately reflects a reasonable segment of a short story that can be used under fair use principles, allowing for educational purposes, critique, or commentary without violating copyright law.