Acuff-Rose filed suit against the members of a rap group, 2 Live Crew and their record company, claiming that 2 Live Crew’s song “Pretty Woman” infringed Acuff-Rose’s copyright in Roy Orbison’s song “Oh Pretty Woman.” The District Court granted summary judgment for 2 Live Crew holding that the song was a parody and thus a fair use of the copyrighted work. Acuff-Rose appealed and the appellate court reversed, holding that because the 2 Live Crew song was used for a commercial purpose, it is presumptively unfair, and because Campbell used so much of the original work in its work, the group had taken too much of copyrighted work. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.

Questions:

Is the parody a fair use of the original work?