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Basic Information >> Printing & Copying, e-Copyright & MediaPod >> e-/Copyright Guides >> Copyright - Lecturer's Guide
For a basic introduction to copyright legislation, click on Copyright - Basic Principles.
Teaching staff can make single copies of material for their own personal use under the same limitations as students and can refer to the Student's Guide What can I copy? for the details. The only exception is the ERA licence, which also gives teaching staff a right to copy broadcasts for educational use.
Teaching staff may, in some instances, also wish to make multiple copies for classes or groups of students, but this area is governed by the Copyright Licensing Agency licence (for printed text) and the ERA licence (for our recordings of TV and radio broadcasts) - you should read below for more information.
Also, note the section on Electronic copyright - there is no automatic right to make multiple copies from databases and web pages.
The University is covered by the CLA (Copyright Licensing Agency) licence for copying printed material.
This gives lecturers or students the rights to make multiple photocopies of books and journals,
if the items are covered by the CLA licence. For further information, please read the CLA website's What can be copied? section.
Not all publishers are covered by the licence - click here to see the CLA's list of excluded works. A publisher who is not covered by the licence should be contacted directly. If in any doubt whatsoever, please contact Russell Kennedy in Library and Learning Services for advice, before you embark on copying material.
What is permitted?
If the original book or journal is covered by the CLA licence (click here for works **excluded** from the licence), then you (or your students) are permitted to make multiple photocopies, on the premises of the university, of:
Also note the CLA licence is only valid for registered students and not ' recipients of instruction on short-term courses delivered on a cost recovery basis and in return for a fee and which are not included in the UCAS brochure'. In the case of such courses, you would have to apply direct to the publisher for copyright clearance.
What if a book or journal is not covered by the CLA licence?
If a work is excluded from the licence, or you wish to copy more than outlined in the rules above, then you should contact the publisher directly and ask for permission from them.
There is also a right, under s.36 of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988, for an educational establishment to make copies 'passages' from works **excluded** from the CLA licence, but this should only be brief quotes, no more than 1% of the work during any quarter of the year.
Contact Russell Kennedy in Library and Learning Services with any queries.
The main body of material covered by Parliamentary copyright is:
You may make single copies of all the above for personal use. Educational institutions may make mutliple copies of extracts of the above, not exceeding 30% or a single chapter of the original work, whichever is larger.
Crown Copyright on legislation has been waived, ie.:
UK legislation can be copied, therefore, with the following caveats laid out in the HMSO guidance s.12-13:
For any other government material, you may assume that 'fair dealing' means you can copy up to 5% for private research or study (ie not multiple copies). You may also wish to to consult the web page http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/guidance/c.htm.
The Newspaper Licensing Agency (NLA) blanket licence held by UEL covers the following papers:
The licence permits:
"With permission, copied from [title] dated [date]"
Copying from other press sources is not covered but it is likely that no more than one copy of a small article per newspaper, used for research or private study, might be considered 'fair dealing' under UK legislation; as always with fair dealing, there is no clear definition and one should err on the side of caution. For any substantial copying, one would have to contact the copyright holder (assume this is the newspaper, although it may occasionally turn out to be a freelance author).
Any material covered by the CLA licence may be enlarged for visually impaired students or staff if:
The number of copies must not be any more than required for purposes of instruction.
Original items in the University's collection, if covered by the CLA licence (click here to see the CLA's list of excluded works), may be copied and placed in short loan but each item must contain a cover sheet identifying material copied, course of study on which it will be used and a statement of how it was obtained. The amount of material copied must not exceed normal restrictions of the CLA licence (5% of a book, one journal article).
Copied items may also be placed in short-loan if:
All these items can then be further copied by students, under the normal restrictions that apply to original texts.
HOWEVER, please note the following:
Any copying done for 'the purposes of an examination by way of setting questions, communicating the questions to the candidates or answering the questions' is not a breach of copyright. This does not mean such material can be retained in past papers. The one exception is reprographic copies of musical works, which are not permitted for a performance as part of an examination.
Someone 'giving or receiving instruction' within an educational institutional may also make a copy of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work but it must be:
Also, 'Copyright in a sound recording, film, broadcast or cable programme is not infringed by its being copied by making a film or film sound-track in the course of instruction, or of preparation for instruction, in the making of films or film sound-tracks, provided the copying is done by a person giving or receiving instruction'.
This is covered in the student's guide - click here.
We subscribe to the ERA licence (Educational Recording Agency) which permits us to copy radio, TV and Cable TV broadcasts where copyright is held by the following organisations:
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For works where copyright is held by the above organisations or their members, the licence permits recording off-air (ie. not showing live):
The legislation permits educational institutions to record one copy of any 'broadcast or cable programme' for educational purposes UNLESS it falls under a licensing scheme. The ERA does not cover cable and satellite broadcasts, and therefore these may also be copied freely for educational use.
It is, of course, legal to record TV programmes at home for private use (and, indeed, to take photographs from said programmes for private use.
The law relating to electronic copyright is not yet well-defined but similar principles apply as for paper copies. If you cannot copy something in paper format, you generally have no right to reproduce it electronically. Please contact Russell Kennedy in Library and Learning Services if you have a question.
Downloading and Printing from Databases
The precise rules for using a database will generally be part of a licence agreement with the publisher. You may well be able to view the licence on a help screen of a CD-ROM database or, if a web-based product, on the web site.
It is worth noting, however, that legislation states:
'Fair dealing with a database for the purposes of research or private study does not infringe any copyright in the database provided that the source is indicated.'
This means that extracting or re-utilising an 'insubstantial part' of the database contents (ie downloading, saving offline or printing off) is permissible under the Act, provided:
This is regardless of what is stated in the licence or copyright notice for using the database. HOWEVER this does not include the downloading or printing of 'substantial' extracts or creating multiple copies for the use of others. Note that there is no clear definition of 'substantial' or 'insubstantial' in the legislation and that, therefore, any copying may be an infringement of copyright.
Lecturers may also extract, but not 're-utilise', (this probably means you may print off or display on a screen) a 'substantial part' of a database's contents if:
although this provision may be rescinded by the publisher's licence and does not cover multiple copies.
See also the Copyright and Rights in Databases Regulations 1997 act.
Emails and Bulletin Board Postings
Emails and Bulletin Board Postings are the copyright of the author.
Admittedly, prosecution is unlikely to follow copying of emails since there will rarely be any financial loss to the author or question of moral rights (eg. being recognised as the author, not having the email presented in a defamatory context). It would NOT, however, be acceptable to distribute multiple copies of an original work via email, or by printing off from email, without permission.
On a separate issue, emails can easily be libellous; there is insufficient space to discuss this here, but you are advised not to write or forward emails which may be defamatory to an individual or organisation.
Scanning/digitising documents
The Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA)licence covers photocopying, scanning and digital re-use, also allow internal emailing of copies and limited storage on a secure intranet. Copies can be made of up to a chapter, entire article or 5% of the publication, whichever is the greater. Photographs, illustrations, diagrams or charts may also be copied where they are included in the body of the extract or article.
To comply with CLA regulations, from 1st August 2010 all scanning requests for the UEL Print Centre need to be requested by a Scanning Request form, which you can access here. A copy of the request will also go the the Library to keep a record of the scanning requests for the CLA.
After submission of the form - and once details have been checked and approved, the following steps need to be followed :
If you have further questions, please email the Print Centre.
If you have questions regarding copyright or exempted material, please contact the Copyright Team.
Please note: It might be acceptable under the legislation to scan onto a PC a 'not substantial' part of a text for private research or study (ie. perhaps the normal 5% or one chapter of a book, one journal article). 'Fair dealing' in digitisation is not well-established, however, (fair dealing is the legal principle under which some copying for private study is allowed) and the ease with which digital copies can proliferate means that publishers are unlikely to accept any digitisation is 'fair dealing'. Certainly, placing such a copy on a network or the Internet, for staff and students to access, would be a breach of copyright.
Software
All software is copyright and your use of software is generally governed by a licence agreement with the rights holder.
The only instance in which software may be copied without explicit permission is:
Web pages - creating your own web sites and electronic resources
It is important to bear in mind that scanning/digitising copyright material from third parties (eg. articles from journals), for students or staff to access via the web, is a breach of copyright. In such cases, you must first get copyright clearance (contact Russell Kennedy in Library and Learning Services) for further information.
On a separate issue, web pages can easily be a source of libel; there is insufficient space to discuss this here, but you are advised not to copy or publish material which may be defamatory to an individual or organisation.
Web pages - using other people's web sites
Web pages and their components (eg. graphics, photographs) are copyright of the author(s) or publisher, in exactly the same way as any 'literary' or 'artistic' work under UK legislation.
You should check for a copyright notice on the web page/web site and, unless copyright has been explicitly waived, you should get written permission to copy. Even if copyright is waived, there will generally be some conditions (for instance, see the guidance on reproducing UK legislation under http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/guidance/c.htm). If you cannot get permission, do not copy. As with scanning (above) the application of 'fair dealing' to Internet sites has not been established and you are advised NOT to 'cut and paste' whole pages or sections of pages without permission.
The law about appropriate use of hyperlinks is not well defined. You should, ideally, contact the author of a web site before creating hyperlinks to it. You are not advised to link to sections of a web site out of their original context, since this may lead to misrepresentation or misuse of the content, which can lead to prosecution. As a rule of thumb, we suggest that all links are set to open in a new window.
Performance of literary, dramatic or musical works, or playing of film, TV or sound recordings is legal if done 'for the purposes of instruction' (ie. in an educational context) within an educational institution. This does not mean, however that illegal copies of said works can be used - simply that the performance of the works is not an infringement in itself ; copies of the works must be legally purchased or obtained. Any performances open to the public (ie. not just students or staff) or for profit would not be considered 'for the purposes of instruction'.
It is also permitted to read or recite a 'reasonable extract' from a literary or dramatic work in public, if it is appropriately acknowledged, but this is unlikely to be a good defence if the performance is done for profit.
It is also permitted to show TV broadcasts in public, providing there is no charge for watching or for letting people into the relevant room or building to watch.
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