Copyright law grants the creators of original artistic works exclusive rights for a period of time. The owner of a copyright can prevent other people from copying, distributing or otherwise using the copyrighted work. Copyright owners enjoy significant exclusive rights to their copyrighted works, but the rights granted by copyright law do have limitations. The primary limit to the rights granted by a copyright is fair use. Fair use is a defense to copyright infringement. When a person is accused of copyright infringement, they can claim that their use of a copyrighted work is not infringement because it is a fair use.