Legal background
1. Copyright
2. Infringement
3. Permitted acts
4. Copyright clearance
5. International aspects of copyright
6. Multimedia projects
If you wish to copy material that is not covered by one of the University's licensing schemes, you will need to ensure that you comply with current legislation, as set out in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended) and elsewhere. This page is intended as a very general overview of some of the more important aspects. Please contact the University Secretary's Office if you require more detailed advice.
1. Copyright
1.1 Types of work protected by copyright
- Literary works: includes literature and non-fiction, newspapers, journals, periodicals, directories and letters. Computer software programs and databases are also considered literary works.
- Dramatic works: includes plays and instructions for mime and dance.
- Musical works: musical scores are included, but not lyrics (lyrics are covered under the heading of literary works).
- Artistic works: graphic works, photographs and sculptures are protected regardless of artistic merit.
- Sound recordings: includes sound recordings on any type of medium from which sounds can be reproduced.
- Films: any medium from which a moving image may be reproduced.
- Published editions: there is copyright in the typography and layout of a literary, dramatic and musical work.
- Broadcasts: being an electronic transmission if visual images, sounds or other information but excluding certain Internet transmissions
1.2 Who owns the copyright?
- Generally, the original owner of copyright in a work is the person who created it.
- Where work is produced in the course of a person’s employment, the employer owns the copyright. In the case of University employees, the position is set out in the terms and conditions of employment and the University’s Intellectual Property Policy, which can be found in the University Staff Handbook. The Rules and Regulations for Students also covers intellectual property arising out of work carried out by students.
- In the context of University research contracts, the intellectual property rights may belong to the organisation providing the funding.
- The copyright in academic papers is usually transferred to the journal publishing the paper. It follows that if you wish to copy an article that you yourself have written, clearance will still need to be obtained from the publisher.
- Copyright may be licensed, sold, assigned or even passed on in a will.
1.3 Duration of copyright
For very general guidance purposes only, copyright lasts for:
| Category | Duration of Copyright |
|---|---|
| Literary, dramatic, musical, artistic works - Known author | 70 years after the end of the calendar year in which the author died |
| Literary, dramatic, musical, artistic works - Joint authors |
70 years after the end of the calendar year in which the last author died.
If the identities of all the authors are not known, the period is calculated by reference to the end of the calendar year during which the last surviving known author dies. |
| Literary, dramatic, musical, artistic works - Unknown author |
70 years after the work was made or, if made available to the public during that period, the 70 year period runs from the end of the calendar year in which the work was first made available to the public.
For literary, dramatic and musical works, 'making available to the public' includes a performance in public or communication to the public. For artistic works, it includes public exhibitions, showing a film including the work in public or communication to the public. These definitions are not exhaustive. |
| Literary, dramatic, musical, artistic works - Computer generated work | The end of the calendar year 50 years after the work was made. |
| Sound recordings | 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which it was made or, if published in this time, 50 years from the end of the year of publication. If not published during that 50 year period, but it is played in public or communicated to the public during that period, 50 years from the first of these to happen |
| Films | 70 years after end of calendar year in which death occurs of last to die of principal director, the authors of the screenplay and the dialogue, and the composer of any music specifically created and used in the film |
| Typographical arrangements of published editions | 25 years from the end of the year in which the edition was first published |
| Broadcasts | 50 years from end of calendar year in which broadcast was first made |
There are, however, exceptions and complications to the above. For example - the above rules may not apply if the country of origin of the work is a non-EEA state and the author is not a national on an EEA state. Also, one piece of work can have a variety of copyrighted elements contained within it (e.g. a film includes a soundtrack (sound recording), set designs (artistic work) and performers (dramatic work). Further, if an artistic work is industrially exploited and marketed, the copyright subsisting in the artistic work may be largely ineffective after 25 years from the end of the calendar year during which the articles were first marketed. If in doubt about the duration of a copyrighted work, please contact the University Sercetary's Office.
1.4 Moral rights
Quite separate from copyright is the protection of moral rights. An author of a work has the right to be recognised as the author, the right to object to any derogatory treatment of the work, and the right not to have a work falsely attributed to him. Unlike copyright, moral rights are not transferable. The moral rights last as long as the copyright in the work. It is therefore important to acknowledge fully the source of any work used.
1.5 Good Practice
Although copyright arises automatically in the UK, all documents, computer programs and disks should be marked with the international copyright symbol ©, the owner of the copyright, and the year the work was produced. This meets the majority of international copyright requirements - for example:
© University of Bristol, 2006.
This action prevents infringers claiming that they did not know to whom the copyright belonged, warns off potential copiers, and can avoid the costly process of proving ownership of copyright.
In some circumstances, particularly relevant to computer software, it may be possible to insert redundant material in a piece of work, which if copied could be used to identify beyond doubt the origin of the work.
2. Infringement
2.1 What amounts to infringement?
The copyright owner of a work has the exclusive right to do, or authorise, the following:
- copy the work
- issue copies of the work to the public
- rent or lend the work to the public
- communicate the work to the public
- perform, show or play the work in public
- make an adaptation of the work, or do any of the above in relation to an adaptation.
Copying, in relation to a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, is defined as reproducing the work in any material form and this includes storing the work in any medium by electronic means. If any of these activities are carried out by anyone other than the copyright owner, this is likely to constitute infringement. There is also a category of secondary infringement, which involves any of the following activities:
- Importing an infringing copy;
- Possessing or dealing with an infringing copy;
- Providing an article specifically designed or adapted for making an infringing copy;
- Transmitting a copyright work by means of a telecommunications system with a licence;
- Permitting a premises to be used for an infringing performance of a copyrighted work;
- Providing the apparatus (for part of it) for an infringing performance of a copyrighted work;
- Permitting an apparatus to be bought onto one's premises, if the premises owner knew that the apparatus was to be used for the purpose of infringing copyright;
- Supplying a copy of a sound recording or film for an infringing performance.
2.2 Penalties
The copyright owner who can show that his copyright has been infringed will normally be entitled to damages. An injunction, preventing further infringement, may also be awarded. Infringing copies may need to be withdrawn and destroyed.
3. Permitted acts
The permitted acts are those acts which are permitted in relation to a copyright work, generally because they do not interfere unduly with the copyright owner’s commercial exploitation of the work. The permitted acts include fair dealing, certain uses in education, certain uses by librarians or archivists, and certain uses in public administration.
3.1 Fair dealing
Fair dealing can cover the use of literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works for research for non-commercial research or private study, criticism, review and reporting current events. The amount of the copyright work that is used is very relevant to whether the use is permitted under fair dealing and the courts will consider the economic impact on the copyright owner. Acknowledgement may also by required.
3.2 Education
In general terms it may not be an infringement of copyright to copy a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, where the copy is made for the purposes of instruction, by a person giving or receiving instruction provided the instruction is for a non-commercial purpose and the copy is sufficiently acknowledged. This does not apply to photocopying or scanning (or otherwise making a facsimile copy, including be electronic means) unless you fall within a very narrow exemption (see Copyright Licensing Agency). If a work has been copied for the purposes of instruction, but the copy is subsequently used for commercial purposes, copyright clearance would be required to avoid infringement.
Further information on the use of copyright material by librarians can be found in the Library Guidelines.
4. Copyright clearance
In seeking to obtain copyright clearance, the following may be helpful:
- Check that the copyright has not already expired - if it has, copyright clearance will not be required.
- Is clearance needed at all, or is the copying covered by one of the licensing schemes?
- Identify the owner of the copyright. the owner may not necessarily be the author or the publisher.
- Contact the owner of the copyright to seek permission to use the copyrighted material. In applying for clearance, you need to inform the copyright owner about the specific copyrighted extract/work that you wish to use, the purposes for which the material will be used, the media in which the material is being used, and the people to whom copies will be supplied (where a project is being funded by HEFCE or by a research council, then the terms of the funding will often specify the scope of the circulation of the finished project, for example, to all higher education institutions within the UK).
- Obtain all copyright clearances in writing. All copyright clearances should be kept securely and in a place where they are readily accessible.
5. International aspects of copyright
It is important to be aware that the copyright laws vary from one country to another, so care should be taken when copying material where the copyright owner is not based in the UK. It is also important to remember that some countries, in particular the USA, are more inclined to litigate over issues of copyright than the UK. This is particularly relevant when publishing material on the web.
6. Multimedia Projects
The following contains a summary of important points to bear in mind when producing multimedia projects.
In designing a multimedia project, it is important to remember that copyright subsists in:
- the computer program (literary work)
- any articles from journals or excerpts from books (literary work)
- photographs and drawings (artistic work)
- music or sound recordings
- excerpts from films
- typography, where any articles or excerpts of books have been scanned, rather than retyped
Copyright clearance will be required for all of the above, where the copyright has not expired. It is also important that the person responsible for the project protects his or her own copyright in the computer software, if designed internally, and any original work used in the project.
Further advice can be obtained from Clare Smith (Tel: 0117 928 8916 or email Clare.Smith@bristol.ac.uk) or Sophie Lermon (Tel: 0117 928 7686 or email: Sophie.Lermon@bristol.ac.uk).