Copyright
A brief guide for staff and students
Copyright law protects the economic and moral rights of the creators of original works. It prevents unauthorised
copying and distribution and safeguards creators’ investment. It is often said that creative works are expensive to
produce but cheap to copy. Copyright law aims to address this imbalance.
The copyright regime in the UK is set out in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998, as amended, and is
refined and developed through case law.
In general the copying of any creative work without permission, including sharing, storing or reproducing it
electronically, will infringe the rights of the copyright holder. There are a few exceptions to this rule and their use
and scope is considered below.
What material is covered by copyright law?
There are a number of categories of work that are protected:
• Artistic works – includes paintings, photographs, technical drawings and computer graphics
• Literary works – includes fiction and non-fiction, web pages and computer programmes
• Dramatic works – includes plays, screenplays and choreographic works
• Musical works – includes everything from Beethoven to Britney Spears!
• Films – includes cine films, TV programmes, documentaries and animation
In addition there are copyrights in the ways that works are expressed and displayed:
• Sound recordings – on every format from vinyl to digital, including music and speech
• Broadcasts – radio and TV signals transmitted by broadcasters
• Published editions – the way that at publishers design and layout work, whether in print or electronically
How long does copyright last?
Copyright doesn’t last forever, but it does last for a very long time. The standard rule is a creator’s lifetime plus 70
years.
There are variations on this and definitive guidance can be found on the website of the Intellectual Property Office
(IPO): http://www.ipo.gov.uk/types/copy/c-duration.htm
Unpublished material is also covered by copyright and subject to different rules. See the IPO’s website for details:
http://www.ipo.gov.uk/types/copy/c-duration/c-duration-faq/c-duration-faq-unpublished.htm
Am I allowed to make any copies at all?
If no copying, sharing or redistribution of original work was allowed at all then teaching, learning and research
would be almost impossible. The law recognises this and if the right approach is taken then reasonable copying is
often possible.
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Fair dealing exceptions
• Limited photocopying for the purposes of non-commercial research and private study is allowed. Copying
should not exceed:
- One article from any one issue of a journal
- One chapter or up to 5% (whichever is greater) of a book
- 10% of a short book of up to 200 pages
- One poem or short story of up to 10 pages from an anthology
- The report of one case in law reports
Only single copies can be taken and only for personal use, not for teaching, instruction or administration. Where
the source material is digital rather than paper it is permissible to print out a copy or save a copy to disk within
the same limits.
• Copyright material can be quoted freely for the purposes of criticism and review provided that quotes are not
excessive. As a general rule quotations should not exceed 400 words and creators should always be credited.
• Limited copying of images and of audio visual material is also allowed for non-commercial research, private
study and criticism and review. The rules on how much is allowed are less clear here though. If you are unsure,
seek advice.
Educational exceptions
• Copyright is not infringed when original work is used for setting or answering exam questions. Long quotes can
be used as can copyright audio visual material provided that creators are properly credited. Although this
exemption extends to dissertations and theses, it only applies in the context of the exam itself. If an examined
work is later used in any other way (published on the web for instance in the College’s etheses repository) then
copyright is infringed and legal penalties apply.
• Copyright works can be performed, played or shown in any educational establishment for staff and students
without infringing copyright.
Licences
• In order that their work can be shared widely, copyright holders might grant an extended licence to users, often
through an organisation that represents them collectively. The terms of a licence may allow copying beyond
the legal minimum. The College has access to a number of very useful licences.
• Collective copyright licences at King’s are used to clear content for course packs, to licence the recording of
TV and radio broadcasts and to copy newspapers and maps for teaching and research. See the Copyright
licences guide for more information.
• An increasing number of creators are interested in open publication – that is publication which seeks to support
creative sharing and reuse. Typically, open content will be licensed under a permissive model like Creative
Commons or GNU FDL, rather than restrictive commercial copyright approaches. PhD theses, publicly
funded research reports and data sets, open source software, and lots of collaboratively authored web content
(including Wikipedia) are released under open licences. This means that users can copy, redistribute and
modify work more freely. There are various flavours of licence in circulation though, so always check the terms
closely.
Can I get permission to copy and share a work directly from the copyright holder?
Sometimes contacting a copyright holder directly is the only route to take. Many works aren’t covered by collective
licences and many creators haven’t used an open licence to define their approach to copyright. In these cases your
options are either to use the work under the limited fair dealing and educational exceptions or to approach the
copyright holder themselves and ask their permission for extended use.
Negotiating with copyright holders can be a complex business. First you’ll need to identify who they are. Where
copyright is managed by a commercial organisation (like a publisher, a large agency or the BBC for instance) this
may be obvious. If the copyright is held by an individual though, investigation will be required. Fees for using
copyright material can be high too, particularly for images.
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If you are planning a project using copyright material make sure that you allow adequate time and resource. The
Information Governance and Compliance team can help and advise.
What about my own work, do I own the copyright?
This depends to some extent on who you are:
• Staff
Work that is created within the course of your employment at King’s is owned by the College rather than by
you. This includes reports, presentations and teaching materials. It also includes publications, especially those
commissioned by King’s. For more detail see Section 3 of the College Code of Practice for Intellectual Property on
the Policy Zone.
• Student
The College doesn’t make any general claim to the copyright of works created by students during their studies.
However, commercially valuable rights must be assigned to the College on an equity sharing basis. There are
special rules for examination materials including scripts, theses and dissertations. For more detail see Section 3 of
the College Code of Practice for Intellectual Property on the Policy Zone.
• Researchers
Researchers need to be careful in managing copyrights since they have overlapping responsibilities to the
College, to participants, to funding bodies, collaborators and publishers. Special guidance on copyright
management for researchers can be found on our policies tools and guidance web pages
(www.kcl.ac.uk/iss/igc/tools/index.html).
Where do I go for further information and support?
The Information Governance and Compliance team are happy to help further.
• Visit our copyright web page for up to date guidance and FAQs www.kcl.ac.uk/iss/igc/copyright.html
• Visit our training web page to find out about copyright courses www.kcl.ac.uk/iss/igc/training.html
• Contact our legal compliance experts directly legal-compliance@kcl.ac.uk
Useful references
The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1988/UKpga_19880048_en_1.htm
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO)
http://www.ipo.gov.uk/copy.htm
JISC Legal
http://www.jisclegal.ac.uk/LegalAreas/CopyrightIPR.aspx
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