Introduction. Among the protected works of science, literature and art related to the results of creative work, there are objects that are significant from the point of view of the interests of society and can be tools for solving socially significant tasks, including those in the field of education. The general approach of the legislator to the legal regulation of such objects is aimed at ensuring their maximum accessibility to all interested parties. Maintaining a balance of private and public interests in the process of such regulation requires the use of effective legal means limiting the exclusive rights of the author. Theoretical analysis. Restrictions on the exclusive rights of the author are represented in civil law by the institute of free use of someone else’s work, which guarantees interested persons access to the use of other people’s intellectual activity results without the consent of the author and without payment of remuneration to him or her. Empirical analysis. In relation to educational activities, the law establishes two ways of using someone else’s work, which are permissible limitations of exclusive rights: quoting and illustrating. The normative acts do not disclose these terms, for their semantic analysis it is necessary to refer to the legal positions of the judicial authorities. The free use of someone else’s work is permissible subject to mandatory compliance with the set of conditions established in the norm, failure to fulfill any of which may lead to the recognition of the use as illegal. A number of rules establishing such conditions allow for significant flexibility in interpretation. Results. The specificity of the legal regulation of the free use of other people’s works for educational purposes lies in the evaluative nature of the key terms used by the legislator in the process of such regulation. For law enforcement, it would be advisable to use as clear and accurate a description of these definitions as possible.