Does quoting documentation as comments in programming code qualify as Fair Use?

Question

Here's an example of how I might document a function call to some external API, external library etc. Their API may have T&Cs, or the libary may force me to abide by a license, that's fine, but what about their documentation?

In the below example, I copy an extract verbatim from their website, in order to describe interaction with their code.

Does this qualify as fair use or fall under some other legal provision?

// This is a string from external documentation, copied off a third party website
// It describes something meaningful about the api/dll etc I'm going to be calling here

func (s *foo) GetBars(id int) (Bars) {
    // todo implementation 
}

The MIT licence, which is pretty permissive, still appears to only apply to the software. I think it's reasonable to include documentation in the same repository as the same "software", but what about supporting documentation on a website? (Note that this argument wouldn't seem to apply to web APIs, lets take Githubs API terms of service as an example, because there is not really any software being licenced.)

Answer 1

It's never been tested. I'd guess because the content owners don't care. Here's the basic structure of what an argument in favor of fair use (17 USC §107) would look like:

• The use is for communicating to future coders/readers what you're doing with that call. That use is non-commercial.
• The original copyrighted work is descriptive, not being sold, and its intended audience is coders trying to understand the API.
• The portion that is taken is a small part of the whole original and of not much value on its own when separated from the rest of the documentation.
• Has no effect on the market of the original copyrighted work.