Copyright


Back to Regulations and policies

This page is intended to provide a basic introduction to the principles of copyright and the way they operate in libraries. It is not a definitive legal opinion in this extremely complex and constantly developing field.
 
Copying licences

Copying for a commercial purpose

Copying limits
 
These guidelines cover photocopying, printing, scanning and downloading of material. Images, data and text which are in electronic form are also protected by copyright.

You can copy material if:

  1. You own the copyright yourself, or
  2. You have the permission of the person who owns the copyright, or
  3. The material is "out of copyright", or
  4. You are copying within the accepted limits of fair dealing. "Fair dealing" covers copying for private study which has no direct or indirect commercial purpose, or for research with a non-commercial purpose. The amount you can copy is not precisely defined by law, but it is generally accepted as including:
    1. Up to 5% or one complete chapter (whichever is greater) from a book
    2. Up to 5% or one whole article (whichever is greater) from a single issue of a journal
    3. Up to 5% or one paper (whichever is greater) from a set of conference proceedings
  5. The University holds a licence which permits the copying you want to carry out.

 

Copying and printing e-books

Most e-books are subject to copyright so you may only print or download small sections. As a rough guide about one chapter is usually acceptable.You may not print or download a whole e-book. Attempts to do so can be monitored and are a breach of copyright law and the University regulations.

More information

  • LACA: Libraries and Archives Copyright Alliance
    Lobbies the Government and the EU on all aspects to do with copyright on behalf of UK libraries, archives and information services and their users. Provides useful guidelines on the recent changes to copyright law.