Copyright is part of a wider set of intellectual property (IP) rights that offer protection and certain exclusive rights to the owner(s) of the rights in a work.  

In the UK the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988 (as amended) defines copyright as:

"…a property right which subsists in accordance with this Part in the following descriptions of work - (a) original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works, (b) sound recordings, films, or broadcasts, and (c) the typographical arrangement of published editions."

Examples of literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works include books, plays, songs and photographs.

There are three tests that can be applied to any work to determine if it is subject to copyright. These include:

1. It must be original

2. It must be fixed (important in electronic environment) (i.e. exist in a material form - whether that is on paper, electronically or otherwise)

3. The author of the work must be a qualified national (broadly either from a country that recognises copyright law or resident in such a country) or where the work has been published, the country of first publication must qualify (broadly that it recognises copyright law).

 The legal position is set out in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and subsequent Statutory Instruments.

For literary (including all written material), dramatic, musical or artistic works:

• usually the author or creator (or employer if the work was done in the course of employment, unless a contract specifies otherwise) but can be assigned to another party
• in many cases the author of a published journal article does not hold the copyright but has assigned it to the publisher
• can be willed on at the author/creator's death as part of their property.

Copyright gives the copyright owner the exclusive right:

• to copy the work
• to issue copies of the work to the public
• to perform, show or play the work to the public
• to broadcast the work
• to make an adaptation of the work

Copyright lasts for:

Literary, dramatic and musical works:

• Until 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the author/creator dies. For example: Author died on 5 January 1902.  Copyright expires on 31 December 1972.

Typographic copyright in the printed page / published editions:

• for 25 years from publication in that edition, so a recent edition of a long-dead author cannot be freely copied.

 Sound recordings:

• are protected by copyright for 70 years after they are published or performed.

Film, cinematographic work:

• 70 years from the making of the work, or if made available to the public within the 70 years, (i.e. by publication or performance), 70 years from the date the author first makes the work available to the public.

Broadcasts:

• 50 years from when the broadcast was first made

Artistic works, such as photographs and paintings:

• Until 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the author/creator dies.

Anonymous works:

• 70 years from the date made available to the public.

Copyright law allows reasonable copying of all types of copyright works for non-commercial research and private study, without permission from the copyright holder.

The copying must be reasonable and fair and fall under "fair dealing". There is no exact legal definition of fair dealing. Aspects to consider are whether the copying is directly relevant and required for the study, whether the copying affects the market for the original work and the amount / proportion of the work that is being copied.

Copyright law allows for the quotation from the works of others without seeking permission from the copyright holder. The use must be fair and proportionate. The following conditions apply:

• the work must have been or be available to the public
• the use of the quotation must be fair dealing
• the length and use of the quotation must be directly related to the purpose for which it is being used
• the quotation must be fully acknowledged and referenced

There is no exact legal definition of the number of words that can be legally included within a quotation. The 4 factors must be considered along with the length / nature of the essay, assignment or dissertation.

More information about using the work of others can be found at: https://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/p27_work_of_others

Printing from e-resources is permitted. It is the responsibility of all members of the College to ensure that they do not breach these licences when using an electronic resource.

Current students of the College may:

• Print a copy of an e-journal article for personal use in their studies
• Download a copy of an e-journal article for personal use in their studies
• Send a copy of an article to another authorised user

All electronic resources purchased by the College are subject to both user restrictions on who can use and access the texts and general copyright law.

Content on websites is subject to copyright.  Material that is "publically available" on the web is still subject to copyright so the permissions and terms of use must be checked and complied with. If the web page does not give clear permissions (usually on the homepage), the permission of the copyright owner will need to be obtained. 

The College holds this licence which provides permissions to copy and reuse content from print and digital publications.

The College holds this licence which enables institutions to legally make recordings or copies of the ERA's members' TV and radio programmes for educational use. More information can be found at: https://era.org.uk/the-licence/the-era-license/

The College holds this licence which covers copying from national and regional newspapers.

More information can be found at: https://www.cla.co.uk/sites/default/files/NLA_LicenceInfoV7.pdf