• the material is 'out of copyright'
• you are the copyright owner
• you have a visual impairment
• you have the permission of the copyright owner
• you are copying within the accepted limits of 'fair dealing' for:
  • non-commercial research
  • non-commercial private study
  • criticism or review
  • reporting of current events
• the University holds a licence for the type of copying you want to carry out.

If in doubt - DON'T copy - seek advice.

Copyright can be a complex subject so these pages are intended to give simple advice on the topic. Please note that they are for guidance only and relate in the main to copying carried out by members of the University (staff and students). It is not intended that these (or linked pages) should provide definitive legal opinion on copyright. For further advice in such matters please see the Contacts List.

For further information on what copying is and is not permitted, please see the following pages:

• Frequently asked copyright questions
• Visually Impaired Persons and Copyright
• Electronic Material and Copyright
• Sound Recordings
• Examinations and Continuous Assessment
• Theses and Dissertations
• CLA Photocopying Licence (books, journals, illustrations)
• CLA Scanning Licence (books, journals, illustrations)
• NLA Licence (newspapers, magazines)
• ERA Licence (videos and off-air recordings of broadcasts)
• Ordnance Survey Licence (OS maps)
• Open University Licence (OU broadcast programmes)
• Creative Commons Licences
• Copyright links
• Contacts List