1. Copyright 101 – what you need to know when writing your thesis
Dr Alice Crawford
Copyright Officer
November 2016

2. What is copyright?
Copyright is a legally enforceable property right that makes it possible for the holder of that right to profit from a work such as a book, a dramatic, musical or artistic creation, a sound recording, film or broadcast.

3. Copyright protects the expression of ideas, but not the idea itself.
It becomes effective at the time of the creation of the work.
It arises automatically – in the UK there is no need to register the work or display the © symbol.

4. In the UK, Copyright law is governed by Part 1 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CPDA).
It has been subject to various amendments over time, including revisions recognising the digital age in 2003, and with a recognition of changes of practice in the creative industries and education in 2014.

5. Who is the Copyright owner?
– the Creator of original material recorded in a permanent format

6. Rights granted by Copyright
The copyright owner controls who may
copy the work
issue copies of the work to the public
rent or lend the work to the public
perform, show or play the work in public
communicate the work to the public – includes making the work available online, and broadcasting it
make an adaptation of the work

7. It is an infringement to carry out any of these restricted acts to the whole, or any substantial part of a work, without licence or permission.

8. A scary story…
In Kipling v Genatosan [ ] MacG Cop Cas 203, the court held that reproduction of 4 lines from Kipling’s 32 line poem “If” amounted to copyright infringement.

9. So… there is no definition of “substantial” no magic formula is used
The quality as well as the quantity of what is copied is considered when determining whether infringement has occurred.

10. What you CAN do…
Copy limited extracts from all types of published copyright works (literary, dramatic and musical works, plus - from June sound recordings, films or broadcasts) for non-commercial research and private study
Quote from copyright works for the purpose of criticism, review, news-reporting (CDPA s.30 (1), June 2014 ) and other purposes as long as this is reasonable and fair (CDPA s.30(1ZA), October 2014)
Make copies of any copyright material for the purpose of computational analysis (e.g. text or data-mining) if you already have the right to read the work (CDPA s.29A, June 2014)
Copy for the sole purpose of “illustration for instruction” e.g. use extracts from films, sound recordings and broadcasts as well as from literary, dramatic and musical works to illustrate a teaching point (CDPA s.32, June 2014)

11. The Law
The law on quotation for criticism and review in the UK is found in Section 30(1) of the CPDA 1988:
The law on general quotation is now found in Section 30(1ZA) of the CDPA. The new exception was introduced by the Copyright and Rights in Performances (Quotation and Parody) Regulations 2014 which is available here:
From

12. All the above are subject to “Fair Dealing”
And all require sufficient acknowledgement (author, title, publication details).

13. What is “Fair Dealing?”
Fair Dealing for Research and Private Study (CDPA s.29)
There is no statutory definition
Covers copying for private study, non-commercial research, criticism or review, news reporting
To qualify as fair and reasonable only an insubstantial amount can be copied
Generally accepted to mean you have permission to copy as long as the act of copying will not harm or prejudice the legitimate interests of the rights holder.
Will always be a matter of fact, degree and impression in each case
Not a right – is subject to challenge

14. Fair Dealing – what to consider?
“How would a fair-minded and honest person have dealt with the work?”
How would you feel if it was your work being copied?
Does using the work affect the market for the original work?
Does the use of the work act as a substitute causing the owner to lose revenue?
Is the amount taken reasonable and appropriate?
Will the act of copying harm or prejudice the legitimate interests of the rights holder?

15. Your print thesis is an unpublished work
has historically been viewed as an examination script
copying for the purpose of examination is now provided for under “Illustration for instruction” (CDPA s.32, June 2014)
so the legislation allows you to include third party copyright material provided it’s accompanied by sufficient acknowledgement and its use is considered “fair dealing” i.e. the amount of the work being copied is reasonable and proportionate for your purposes.

16. What is third party material?
Quotations and extracts from other people’s publications e.g. books and journals
Illustrations, photographs, diagrams, maps, graphs

17. Your digital thesis
will be made available online, and is therefore deemed to be published
so you will have different responsibilities with regard to any third party copyright material you use

18. Your digital thesis
Under “Fair Dealing” you may still use third party copyright material without permission here, provided:
it’s already publicly available
it’s accompanied by sufficient acknowledgement
you’re using it for the purpose of criticism or review (CDPA s.30)
Your quotation (or other extract) is no more than is required for your specific purpose (CDPA s.30,October 2014)

19. e.g. a short quotation that’s necessary and relevant to your work, which accurately acknowledges the source, author, artist or creator of the work, and gives a title or other identifying description of the work being copied.

20. But this will not apply to
a substantial quotation e.g. a whole poem, a large amount of text
a photograph

22. Photographs in digital theses
The exceptions provided by CDPA s.30 Fair Dealing will only cover photographs in exceptional circumstances.
It would not be considered fair dealing if the proposed use of a copyright photograph would conflict with the copyright owner’s normal exploitation of his/her work.
e.g. the ability to sell or license copies of photographs for use in newspapers etc. would be normal exploitation.

23. So permission will have to be sought
But first…

24. Is it out of copyright?
Copyright of published material lasts for fixed periods of time:
Literary, dramatic, musical & artistic works, films – 70 years
Sound recordings – 50 years
Published editions – 25 years

25. Quoting from unpublished material
There is no fair-dealing exception when quoting from unpublished material e.g. manuscripts from an archive
A high proportion of archival material is (oddly) still in copyright
Before the CDPA came into force in 1988, unpublished work enjoyed perpetual copyright
Then things changed…

26. The CDPA introduced a fixed term for unpublished works
Where the author died before 1969 and the work was unpublished before August 1989, it will be in copyright till 2039 (50 years after the CDPA came into force)
We are waiting for legislation to be introduced which will change the copyright term to “life of the author plus 70 years” in line with other European countries.

27. So you will always have to request permission to quote or use unpublished material, for both your print thesis and your digital thesis

28. Requesting permission
Guidance on University website at:
Template letter

30. Requesting permission
Further guidance on the gov.uk intellectual property pages
Licensing bodies and collecting societies e.g.
PRS for Music (Performing Rights Society)
Publishers Licensing Society
CLA
Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) etc.
WATCH Copyright File (University of Reading) (Writers Artists and Their Copyright Holders)

33. N.B. Plan ahead Allow plenty of time to consider all options
Does Fair Dealing apply?
Seek permission as you go along – in writing
Keep records safe

34. Where permission is not granted
No response = No permission
Decide how to manage this
Embargo electronic deposit?
Prepare an edited version for placing in Repository?

35. Useful links Copyright Overview - Students
University website
Copyright Overview - Students
What material it covers
Duration
Use of Third Party Material
Contact numbers
Template permission letter
Copyright User online resource -
Intellectual Property Office -
IPO training tool -

36. Useful links Creative Commons http://creativecommons.org
Offers copyright licences designed for the online environment
Standardised
Specific terms and conditions
Copyright owner retains ownership but grants others permission to use under certain conditions
Useful FAQ -

38. Copyright law only applies if I copy the work word for word.
A few misconceptions?
I have only used a small extract and properly referenced the source.
All information available on the Internet is free to use.
There isn’t a Copyright symbol or notice displayed so shouldn’t be a problem to use it.
Copyright law only applies if I copy the work word for word.
It’s almost impossible to prove copyright infringement.

39. Any questions?
Image: Red version of Image: Emblem-important.svg by Giancarlocan. CC BY_SA_3.0