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Copying and Copyright

The whole area of copyright is vast and complex, and presents rights owners and rights users with a legal minefield. The following guidelines attempt to clarify matters in relation to likely purposes for copying within the University.

Disclaimer: This guide does not qualify as legal advice, and should not be taken as superceding the requirements expressed in any licence agreements that the University may have with rights organisations or publishers.

What is copyright?

 

Copyright is a form of intellectual property and is part of a broader range of intellectual property rights, including patents, designs and trademarks. Copyright is implicit in the very act of creating anything which is original, be it a literary work, painting, sculpture, computer programme or just about anything which has a physical form of expression. As it is a form of property right it can be waived or assigned to another person or body. Copyright does not have to be registered or proved, as long as the work is original copyright is already invested in it automatically under UK law.

The primary source of UK copyright law is the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 (c.48) (CDPA). This act lays down what can and cannot be done by individual members of the public and also what institutions such as university libraries can legitimately do in terms of copying for stock and other people. The act has been amended significantly over the years and so the original printed version should not be read in isolation.

Who owns the copyright ?
  • In literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works: The author(s) owns the copyright
  • Work created in the course of employment is usually owned by the employer
  • Copyright can assigned to others, either wholly or piecemeal
Moral Rights

These exist alongside the copyright, and cannot be waived or assigned to others.

  • Paternity right: The right to be identified as the author
  • Integrity right: The right to object to derogatory treatment of your work
  • False attribution right: The right not to have your work falsely attributed to another
  • Privacy right: This applies to photographs and films
How long does copyright protection last?

 

The typical length of time that a work is in copyright is 70 years from the end of the year in which the author died. A publisher will also have a copyright in the typographical arrangement of a literary work, typically 25 years from the date of publication. However, this period of time can vary with some kinds of material e.g. photographs and sound recordings, so advice should be sought if you are unclear.

 

Copying for personal use - "Fair dealing"

Copyright is not all pervasive and does not prevent copyright works being copied in any way. UK law sets out a number of "Permitted Acts". However the permitted acts are defences in a court of law; they are not rights. For example, you would only be deemed to have infringed copyright if you were to copy a 'substantial' part of a work. Unfortunately, like much of the act, terms such as 'substantial' are not defined. What amounts to 'substantial' will vary according to what is being copied. In addition to this, there are certain so called 'Fair dealing' exceptions which permit copying for a number of specific purposes. These include:

  • for research (for a non-commercial purpose) and private study;
    This is the type of fair dealing mainly relevant to the university. For most published works long-established practice suggests that for these purposes you may copy 5% of a work or:
    • One complete chapter of a book;
    • One article per issue of a journal or set of conference proceedings;
    • Up to 10% (maximum of 20 pages) per short book (without chapters), report, pamphlet or Standard Specification;
    • One poem or short story (maximum of 10 pages) from an anthology;
    • One separate illustration or map up to A4 size (but illustrations which are an integral part of articles/chapters may be included in categories 1 and 2 above);
    • Short excerpts only from musical works (not whole works or movements) and no copying for performance purposes.

    • Fair dealing does not apply to repeat copying from the same work which exceeds these limits, or to copying for someone else if it is likely to result in copies of substantially the same material being provided to more than one person at substantially the same time and for substantially the same purpose. Nor does it apply to any copying done for a commercial purpose.

  • for criticism, review and news reporting; and
  • for public administration (primarily a defence used by parliament and in court proceedings)

Much of the copying that you might undertake for your private non-commercial research in libraries will fall under fair dealing. So, for example, if you photocopy an article from a journal while conducting your own non-commercial research it will probably amount to 'fair dealing' provided you accompany it with a sufficient acknowledgment..

Copying for Educational Purposes
CLA Photocopying and Scanning HE Licence – from 1st August 2008

The University has purchased a Photocopying and scanning HE licence  from the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) . This permits HEIs to make multiple photocopies and scan extracts from printed books,  journals and magazines.

There is also a Comprehensive HE licence which permits the same photocopying and scanning rights as above and in addition allows the copying and re-use of digital material such as electronic or online publications, but this option was not taken up by the university.

The CLA has published a set of User Guidelines covering both UUK/Guild HE licences.

Details of any scanning done under the terms of this licence must be sent in a bi-annual report to the CLA. Therefore, university staff are required to inform the library of any relevant scanning they have done.

The appropriate contacts on each campus are:

other licences held by the university

The University holds a number of other licences which regulate copying of works. These include:

  • British Standards Educational Copying Licence. BSI's Educational Licensing Scheme allows staff and students to copy British Standards for 18p per page of each individual standard copied (+VAT). This works out at about 10% of the cost of a printed original. Library staff must be informed when standards are copied. Please email Sean Hamilton or Philomena Millar with the relevant details.
  • Educational Recording Agency Licence. This licence covers off-air recording of TV and radio broadcasts. The contact for queries relating to recording copyright is Finlay Wilson, ICT.
  • Newspaper Licensing Agency Licence. This licence covers the reproduction of newspaper articles from both national and some regional titles.
  • Ordnance Survey Educational Site Licence. This allows the copying of material for teaching and/or educational purposes. Further details are available in this OS Guide.
  • PSI Licence which allows us to re-use a wide range of Crown Information and Public Sector Information. For more information on what is covered by this licence please vist the FAQ page.
e-books and e-journals

The terms and conditions applying to the use of electronic journal and electronic book collections held by the university library are set out either in direct License agreements with publishers or with groups of publishers in accordance with model license agreements such as the Nesli Model Licence.

The university has not signed-up for the CLA Comprehensive HE licence which allows the copying and re-use of digital material such as electronic or online publications, so any copying of this type must be covered by one of our individual Licence Agreements.

On the Electronic Journal Services page there are links to information on Licensing terms and conditions for many of the electronic services to which we subscribe.

further advice

For advice on specific copyright issues please contact your campus subject librarian.