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 This does not cover unpublished works.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 This does not cover unpublished works.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. |