University of Westminster

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Copying Licences

Photocopying and scanning licence

The CLA (Copyright Licensing Agency) Photocopying and Scanning Licence covers photocopying and scanning from printed books and journals to support students.
 

Photocopying

You can photocopy books and journals yourself. However not all books and journals are covered by the licence, so you should consult the CLA's List of excluded works before you copy.
 
The licence allows us to make multiple photocopies of copyright material on UK premises and this material can be sent directly to our students overseas by post, by courier, or by hand. However such copies may NOT be made on overseas premises, nor may we send one copy abroad for on-copying there.
 

Scanning

You cannot scan books and journals yourself unless you are scanning something for which you personally own the copyright, or something which you have written permission from the copyright holder to scan. If you would like to scan an item under the terms of the licence, you can use the Library's e-readings service.
 
The licence allows us to put a scanned copy of a printed journal article or book chapter on Blackboard for students on a given module. However there are various restrictions imposed by the licence which limit what can be scanned, and control how it is made available for students. For example:
 
  • All scanning must be recorded, and reported to the CLA twice a year
  • Each scanned extract must be accompanied by a cover sheet giving full bibliographic details of the item
  • Scanned extracts can only be made available to certain groups of students, for a limited period of time
  • The CLA may audit the collection at any time
 
The licence is being monitored very closely by the CLA. Information Systems and Library Services (ISLS) has purchased the approved software to manage this centrally so that minimum effort is needed to ensure that Westminster meets all these obligations.
 
Other licences
  • DACS (Design and Artists Copyright Society)
    Covers slides of artistic works from published editions.
  • ERA (Educational Recording Agency
    Covers off-air recording of TV and radio, with the exception of Open University programmes which are separately licensed. Note that there are significant extra restrictions on the use of any off-air recordings not made under either of these licences.
  • Newspaper Licensing Agency Licence
    Covers copying of newspaper articles from specified newspapers. Westminster's licence does not currently include the digital copying or scanning of articles.