Exceptions, fair dealing and reuse
Information and guidance on copyright exceptions, fair dealings and reuse of images/other media.
Introduction
This page covers uses of copyright material under permitted acts in law. Copyright law gives certain rights to those who wish to reuse copyright material. These are known as exceptions to copyright, and we cover the ones which can be used in the UK.
In 2014 there were significant changes to UK copyright law in order to bring it up to date with technological and economic changes. These updates covered exceptions for: education and teaching, research, people with disabilities, libraries, and more.
Many exceptions to copyright are subject to a principle of fair dealing being applied. We discuss how this important principle can apply in UK law, and how you can make a reasoned judgement regarding your own use.
Fair dealing
Fair dealing is a term used in UK law. It is our equivalent of the American fair use doctrine, and it functions very differently.
Fair dealing is a concept which is used in conjunction with specific exceptions. Our table of exceptions shows which ones must be used with fair dealing.
There is no legal definition of fair dealing, therefore no set amount of a work that can be used for a specific purpose. Instead, you should consider how a fair and reasonable person would view the use of the work.
Some factors that should be taken into account:
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Have you acknowledged the author and/or copyright owner, where practicable to do so?
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Does the copying act as a substitute for the work?
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Are you copying more than is necessary for achieving the purpose of the exception?
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Can less be used to achieve the same purpose?
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Could the copying affect the market for the work i.e could it cause the copyright holder to lose revenue?
Copyright exceptions
Exceptions are also known as permitted acts. Reusing a copyright work under an exception does not require permission from the copyright owner.
All of the exceptions below come from the current UK copyright legislation: the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
- Section 29: Research and private study
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Category Summary Commercial use allowed? Contractual override allowed? Fair dealing? Potential application Research/Education You can make a single copy of a fair dealing amount for non-commercial research or private study. No No Yes Photocopying a chapter of a book in order to research a topic for an essay. - Section 29A: Copies for text and data analysis for non-commercial research
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Category Summary Commercial use allowed? Contractual override allowed? Fair dealing? Potential application Research/Education You can copy works for the purposes of text and data mining providing you have lawful access. No No No Extracting articles from a database in order to carry out a linguistic frequency analysis. - Section 30: Criticism, review, quotation and news reporting
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Category Summary Commercial use allowed? Contractual override allowed Fair dealing? Potential application Research/Education You can copy part of a work for these purposes. The quotation element was introduced in 2014, and covers quoting for any purpose. This does not cover unpublished works. Yes No Yes Criticism: using low resolution versions of artworks in a thesis in order to discuss an academic theme. Review: using sentences from a newly published book in order to review it.
Quotation: using a line of poetry as a decorative backdrop for a poetry event.
- Section 30A: Caricature, parody or pastiche
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Category Summary Commercial use allowed? Contractual override allowed? Fair dealing? Potential application Research/Education This exception was introduced in 2014. You can copy part of a work for this purpose. This does not cover unpublished works. Yes No Yes Using a few lines from a song to create a parody sketch, or using small amounts of a film to create a larger pastiche work. - Section 31A and 31B: Accessible copies for disabled users
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Category Summary Commercial use allowed? Contractual override allowed? Fair dealing? Potential application Disability Individuals and institutions can make an accessible copy of the whole or part of a work for the users with any type of disability. No No No Making a large print copy of a book for a visually impaired person, so long as the person has lawful access to the original work. - Section 32: Illustration for instruction
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Category Summary Commercial use allowed? Contractual override allowed? Fair dealing? Potential application Teaching You can copy part of a work for the purpose of illustrating a teaching point. This is not limited to teaching within an educational establishment. No No Yes Including a short snippet of a video in a presentation, if the snippet is integral to the teaching point that you’re making. - Section 34: Performing, playing or showing work in course of activities of educational establishment
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Category Summary Commercial use allowed? Contractual override allowed? Fair dealing? Potential application Teaching You can perform, play or show a work for purposes of instruction in an educational establishment. Members of the public cannot be admitted. No Unclear No Playing a DVD of an entire film in a class where the film is related to the teaching. - Section 35: Recording of broadcasts
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Category Summary Commercial use allowed? Contractual override allowed? Fair dealing? Potential application Teaching You can record free-to-air broadcasts on behalf of educational establishments for non-commercial purposes. However, the ERA Licence takes precedence over this exception. No Yes No Making a recording of a television show and playing that recording in class or making it available on a secure VLE.
Using images and other media
Copyright is an exclusive right given to owners of creative content such as books, artworks, film. When reusing film you will need to consider the right of the owner.
Generally speaking, this involves being fair in your use: using extracts rather than copying whole works, and referencing the owner.
However, it is also possible to find film that is available under an open reuse licence, or where the copyright has expired or been waived.
Follow the flowchart below for further information and guidance. This flowchart has been created with AV material in mind, but the principles apply broadly to other categories of copyright work.
Images are, for many, an indispensable teaching aid. They conceptualise and condense information, convey meaning, and make presentations and materials more visually appealing.
It is important to consider use of copyright images in context because this context will largely determine whether the use is lawful. As an overarching set of principles, use the four step process illustrated in the PDF below:
The Library subscribes to databases which provide images under licensing terms. You are responsible for checking your use against these. We also provide a comprehensive and regularly updated list of sources for reusable images in the section below.
Where to find reusable images
This section has been created to help you discover reusable images. The best place to start is with the Openverse – Creative Commons CC Search. This is a federated search engine combining Flickr, Wikimedia Commons, and more.
You can limit your search to include particular licence terms and it is particularly useful as it gives the exact text to be used for attribution.
You can find more information from our tutorial on discovering and using images, graphs, charts, and figures.
Some other sites where you will find images which are in the public domain or have a Creative Commons licence are listed below. However, do remember to check the terms of use as these will vary.
Pixabay
Pixabay is a community of creatives, sharing copyright free images, videos and music. All contents are released under the Pixabay License, which makes them safe to use without asking for permission, even for commercial purposes.
Attribution not required, but appreciated.
Pexels
Pexels offers free stock photos you can use anywhere including for commercial purposes. Attribution recommended. All contents are released under the Pexels License. Attribution not required, but appreciated.
Cupcake
All photos on Cupcake are licensed under the Creative Commons license CC0, which means that you are free to use the images without any costs.
You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking for permission. Attribution not required, but appreciated.
Unsplash
All photos published on Unsplash can be used for free. You can use them for commercial and noncommercial purposes. You do not need to ask permission from or provide credit to the photographer or Unsplash, although it is appreciated when possible.
All contents are released under the Unsplash License. Attribution not required, but appreciated.
Wellcome Collection Images
Wellcome Collection Images includes thousands of Creative Commons licenced images from historical library materials and museum objects to contemporary digital photographs
University of Sheffield Digital Special Collections
You may use these images for private study without seeking permission. You may also use it for strictly educational purposes such as PowerPoint presentations or student handouts.
Use this statement for acknowledgement: “Reproduced with permission of the University of Sheffield”.
University of Sheffield National Fairground and Circus Archive
You may use these images for private study without seeking permission. You may also use for strictly educational purposes such as PowerPoint presentations or student handouts.
Use this statement for acknowledgement: “Reproduced with permission of the University of Sheffield”.
International Merit Scholarships
We offer a generous package of financial support for international students including 75 undergraduate scholarships worth £10,000 towards the annual tuition fee and 125 postgraduate taught scholarships worth £5,000 towards the tuition fee. Applications are now open for existing offer holders.