Fisher v. Dees was a 1986 case of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit whose judgement refined the doctrine of fair use in American copyright law.

[1][2] In 1984, Rick Dees, a disc jockey, sought and was refused permission to use Marvin Fisher's song "When Sunny Gets Blue", with the intention of creating a "comedic and inoffensive" version.

Although the request was rejected, Dees released an album, Put It Where the Moon Don't Shine, with a song entitled "When Sonny Sniffs Glue".

With respect to the copyright infringement claim, the court held that the fair use doctrine protected Rick Dees because of the lack of detrimental economic impact and the editorial nature of the song.

First, it is rare for a parodist to actually receive permission and second, to make this action blameworthy would be to penalize showing of consideration in giving the composer notification.