Copyright & research

1. Copyright and Research– Things to consider.
Copyright is essentially a set of legal rights governing the ways in which scholarly, scientific,
artistic and other original creative material may be used by others (i.e., copied, distributed,
displayed, performed, transmitted, modified or transformed into new works). Infringing a
copyright holder’s rights can leave people open to civil penalties, so it is important therefore
that researchers respect a copyright holder's rights and remain compliance with the law.
This also reflects academic and professional integrity through the ethical use of information
which is paramount to what you do as academic researchers.
As research active members of this academic community, you will inevitably encounter the
copyright system many times a day. As both owners and users of copyrighted works you
have rights, responsibilities and choices in each of those roles that must be enforced and
exercised correctly. For this reason, you need to be familiar with copyright law in order to
exercise your rights to the fullest and to gain the greatest benefit from the knowledge you
acquire and create. Understanding what copyright law governs, what rights you hold as
users and owners, and what options you have to exercise these rights will ensure that your
work has the widest possible reach, impact and value.
Copyright is protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and subsequent
Statutory Instruments.
Copyright is infringed when people copy other’s work without permission.
Copyright, whether it relates to text, music, pictures, sound recordings, web pages, etc., is
protected by the 1988 Act and may often have an accompanying symbol (©) and/or legal
statement.
In most circumstances, works protected by copyright can be used in whole or in part only
with the permission of the owner. In some cases this permission results in a fee being
charged.
All staff and students of the university have obligations to observe copyright law and the
terms of associated licences.
The university holds licenses which enable it to use some copyrighted works for educational
purposes without breaching the 1988 CDP Act. The university is licensed under:
 The Copyright Licensing Agency Photocopying and Scanning Licence
 The Newspaper Licensing Agency Educational License
 The Ordnance Survey Educational Copyright License
 The Educational Recording Agency Educational Recording Licence
 The Open University Licensed Off-air Recording Scheme
Copyright is not infringed where limited copying is carried out within
 the concept of “fair dealing”
 the terms of a licensing scheme
 written permission of the copyright holder (“clearing copyright”)

2. Fair dealing
“Fair dealing” is a term used for copying when it is:
 of an insubstantial amount of the whole work
AND is for the purpose of
 non-commercial research, or
 non-commercial private study, or
 criticism or review, or
 reporting current events.
If such criteria are met, the copying does not infringe copyright in the work.
However, how much copying is acceptable as “fair dealing” is not actually defined in the
1988 CDP Act.
This defence of “fair dealing” only applies to
 paper to paper copying only (i.e. to photocopying from print originals)
 copying by individuals of short extracts for the purpose of
o private study
o non-commercial research
o criticism or review
The extent of “fair dealing” is not specified by the legislation. Generally accepted
“guidelines” are whichever is the greater of
 one chapter or 5% of a book
 one article or 5% of an issue of a journal
 one paper or 5% of a set of conference proceedings
 one case or 5% of a law report
 one poem or short story not exceeding 10 pages from an anthology
(Thus, copying more than one chapter is acceptable provided that copying does not exceed
5% of the total length of the book.)
“Fair dealing” can be applied when you are writing a Masters dissertation, PhD or MPhil
thesis, although you will, of course, need to acknowledge all of your sources. However, if
your thesis material is used for another purpose, for example, if it is published in a textbook
or as a journal article, you will need to consider the question of copyright clearance.
Certainly, as you move beyond your research degree, you will need to carefully consider
issues of copyright. It is, therefore, very important to know when you can safely use other
people’s works without seeking permission and when you need to obtain copyright
clearance.
If your report is based on interviews, then you should ask the participants to sign a release
form giving you permission to make use of their contribution for the purposes of your
project.

3. Remember when you use someone else’s original work you need to know what you may or
may not do with it. For example, as a student you may be allowed to photocopy parts of a
play you are studying as part of a course but you would not be allowed to perform the same
play in public before a fee-paying audience without seeking permission first. Also remember
that copyright covers many different types of work and its protection continues therefore
for varying lengths of time, but often up to fifty years after an author’s death.
Everything published on the web is also protected by copyright, so even if it seems to be
“free” information it probably isn’t! Electronic information presents commercial rights
holders with particular challenges because it is so easy to copy and transfer to other people.
Web masters therefore use several techniques, particularly with images, to block or track
illegal downloads and misuses of their material, and many are pro-active in pursuing and
prosecuting offenders.
Databases, like the ones available within the university, are all covered by licences deriving
from copyright. Licence terms are set by the database producers and libraries will have
signed to agree to them. Remember therefore that as students you will also have signed to
abide by the licence terms so as to be given access to online resources.
Clearly copyright can be a confusing area, if you feel therefore that you might need further
help and assistance try visiting the library web-pages at

http://www.dur.ac.uk/library/copyright/. There is a great deal of useful information there
to assist users.

You can also contact ColinTheakston, the Academic Liaison Librarian responsible for
copyright, on 0191-3342970 or by e-mail at [email protected]