Copyright: some guidance

Guidance Restrictions FAQs

As a member of Senate House Library, it is your responsibility to ensure that any copying you undertake in the Library does not constitute an infringement of copyright law. This applies to photocopies and reprographic copies made by you or on your behalf, as well as to materials borrowed from the Library. Breach of copyright may result in prosecution.

The following guidance is designed to make you aware of the key points in copyright law. It does not constitute legal advice and the University of London accepts no responsibility for any misinterpretation or inaccuracy the pages may contain nor for any loss of damage incurred as a result of acting upon information provided here.

For guidance on the law:

www.intellectual-property.gov.uk/std/faq/copyright/what_protected.htm
www.hmso.gov.uk/copyright/managing copyright.htm
www.ulrls.lon.ac.uk/tutorial/libraries/copyright1.asp
www.bl.uk/services/information/copyrightfaq.html

Copyright: restrictions

All of the Library's photocopying and reprographics services operate under the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 and subsequent Statutory Instruments, the most recent being the Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003 (Statutory Instrument 2003/2498).

The Library reserves the right to refuse to copy material on the grounds of:

• illegality under the terms of Copyright legislation
• fragile condition, on the advice of the Conservator

Copies are supplied on the understanding that they are to be used for:

• private study or research or
• commercial purposes, under the terms of the CLA Sticker Scheme for the copying of material

If the reproduced item(s) is to be included in a publication you will need:

• permission in writing, in advance of publication, from the Director of the University of London Research Library Services
• to acknowledge Senate House Library, University of London as the source of the image
• to pay a reproduction fee, see Schedule of charges for permission to copy

Material subject to Copyright cannot be published without the written permission of the Copyright holder. For guidance on obtaining permission to use copyright material, see www.intellectual-property.gov.uk/faq/copyright/permission.htm

Copyright: Frequently Asked Questions

The following sections summarise the key provisions of UK legislation, the Copyright Licensing Agency licence schemes and the Higher Education Copying Accord relating to the Higher Education Institutions sector:

What is copyright?

Copyright confers the legal right to the originator or their assignee for a fixed number of years to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic or musical material and to authorise others to do the same. Anyone who infringes this right by copying work without prior permission from the copyright owner can be sued for damages. This includes storing a work by electronic means.

Which legislation in the UK covers copyright?

The law of copyright in the UK is governed by the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 and subsequent Statutory Instruments, the most recent being the Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003 (Statutory Instrument 2003/2498). The purpose of the 2003 legislation was to implement the EU Copyright Directive 2001/29/EC in the UK. This attempts to harmonise the copyright laws of Member States and to update them to take into account the Internet and electronic information in general.

The full text of the 2003 Regulations can be found on the HMSO website.

How long does copyright last?

The length of time copyright applies depends on material type:

• Literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works - 70 years after the death of the author. For joint authors - 70 years after the death of the author who dies last. For posthumous, anonymous or pseudonymous works, or those published by an institution, including the Crown - 70 years from the year in which the work was made available to the public
  
• Films - 70 years after the death of the last to die: from the director, author, of the screenplay/dialogue or composer of the soundtrack
  
• Sound recordings - 50 years after the end of the year in which they were first made or released
  
• Typographical arrangement - 25 years from the end of the calendar year in which the edition was first published
  
• Unpublished works - manuscript and typewritten
  (i) works created before 1 August 1989 - 70 years from that date
  (ii) works created after 1 August 1989, 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the author dies
  
• Parliamentary copyright, eg Hansard, Information Bulletin and parliamentary papers - generally 50 years from the year the work is produced
  
• Crown copyright, which covers most other government publications - 50 years from the year first published or 125 years if unpublished

See also: www.intellectual-property.gov.uk/std/faq/copyright/how_long.htm

When can copyright material be copied?

You may copy material when the copyright holder has granted their consent and agreed the number of copies that can be made.

A number of exceptions to copyright allow limited use of copyright works without the permission of the copyright owner. For the university sector these exceptions mainly come under the headings of 'fair dealing' and licence schemes (see below).

For information about copying University of London theses, please see our page on Theses.

What is 'fair dealing'?

Fair dealing allows limited copying of items (a single copy of part of a work) for non-commercial (see 'What is the Copyright Licensing Agency Sticker Scheme?' below for what constitutes commercial copying) private study or research or for criticism or review. There is no statutory definition of fair dealing however, and the amount of a work that can be copied without infringing the law is not specified. Senate House Library follows the Copyright Licensing Agency guidelines on what constitutes fair dealing copying in the following categories:

• Books - up to 5% or one complete chapter (whichever is the greater)
  
• Articles - up to 5% or one whole article (whichever is the greater) from a journal issue
  
• Conference proceedings - up to 5% or one whole paper (whichever is the greater)
  
• Published volume of judicial proceedings/law reports - up to 5% or one whole case report (whichever is the greater)
  
• Anthology or short stories or poems - up to 5% or one short story or one poem of not more than 10 pages (whichever is the greater)

CLA licences do not authorise copying from some general categories of published works, as well as some specific publishers and works themselves. See Copyright Licensing Agency for the full list.

Copying from printed music, British Government Publications and maps are subject to provisions separate to the CLA licences. Advice is available from the Information Centre, tel: 020 7862 8461.

You will be asked to sign a copyright declaration form if any photocopying/reprography is undertaken on your behalf by library staff.

What are the Licence Schemes?

There are a number of licensing schemes in the UK, such as the Copyright Licensing Agency, the Educational Recording Agency, the Newspaper Licensing Agency, the Design and Artists Copyright Society and the Ordnance Survey Educational Copyright licence (for Ordnance Survey maps).

The Copyright Licensing Agency issues a licence available to UK Higher Education institutions. Senate House Library subscribes to this licence. It permits individual staff and students to photocopy copyright materials from magazines, books and journals for non-commercial research or private study in accordance with the CLA guidelines referred to above. It also permits teaching staff to make multiple copies of certain materials for class distribution, provided certain conditions are fulfilled. See Copyright Licensing Agency for details.

Senate House Library also subscribes to the Ordnance Survey Educational Copyright Licence and the Educational Recording Agency. Their websites provide guidance.

What is the Copyright Licensing Agency Sticker Scheme?

The Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003 (Statutory Instrument 2003/2498) changed the law of copyright in a number of significant ways. One of the most important changes was that copying for commercial purposes is no longer allowed.

The CLA has introduced the 'Sticker Scheme' for the copying of material for commercial purposes. Senate House Library operates this 'Sticker Scheme'. If you are unsure whether the copying you wish to undertake falls within the category of commercial, please see notices posted in the Library or ask a member of staff at the Information Centre or Circulation Desk.