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

Exception	Category	Summary	Commercial use allowed?	Contractual override allowed?	Fair dealing?	Potential application
Section 29: Research and private study	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	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	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 This does not cover unpublished works.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	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 This does not cover unpublished works.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	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	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	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	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.