What is Copyright?
Copyright gives legal protection to the creators of certain kinds of work. It enables them to control the ways in which their work is exploited, and so restricts the way such works may be used and distributed. Copyright in the UK is governed principally by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Copyright protection is automatic, and does not require formal registration. As a property right, copyright can be used, bought, sold and licensed like other property.
Copyright applies to various categories of material, such as: original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works (including most types of written material, film scripts, sculptures, photographs, and maps etc); sound recordings, films and videos, radio and TV broadcasts; software and cable programmes; as well as the typographical arrangement or layout of a published edition. ‘Literary works’ does not simply refer to works of literature, but to nearly any type of written material, whether published or unpublished.
Copying from copyrighted material
You may make a copy of a work freely if one of the following applies:
- Copyright on the work has expired
- You own the copyright on the work
- The copyright holder has given you explicit permission to copy the work.
You may also make copies of limited amounts of individual works:
- under the Act’s "fair dealing" provisions (where only a small proportion of a work (normally < 5%) is being copied for private research or study purposes); or
- according to a specific licence agreement, e.g. under the terms of licences from the Copyright Licensing, Educational Recording or Newspaper Licensing Agencies (see below for further details of the University’s licences).
- The Copyright (Librarians & Archivists) Regulations 1989 also allow copying by librarians and archivists on behalf of others, where a copyright declaration form has been signed.
If you wish to copy copyrighted material for another purpose than private research/study (e.g. to produce a poster for an event, for a web page or publication), you will need to gain the copyright owner’s permission.
Sources of Further Information
A range of copyright advice and guidance is available from the University. The following guide for staff and students points to the sources of help available according to the nature of your enquiry or the context in which you intend to use copyrighted material.
Copying from published materials and ‘fair dealing’
Information on copying in relation to printed materials, theses, electronic journals and publications, can be found on the Library’s website, which also carries information on copying under the fair dealing provisions and licences:
http://www.york.ac.uk/services/library/publications/guides/copyright.htm
University’s Copyright Licenses
The Academic Support Office is responsible for administering the licences issued to the University by the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA), the Educational Recording Agency (ERA) and the Newspaper Licensing Agency (NLA). These licensing agencies collect revenues for rights-holders and, in return for the licence fee, 'users' may copy material under certain guidelines and for certain purposes. The CLA Licence covers photocopying undertaken by students registered and staff employed by the University. Subject to the conditions of the licence, it allows the limited distribution by staff of copyright materials on an ad hoc basis during a particular programme of study. More on the licences can be found at:
http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/aso/copyright/webpage.htm
http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/aso/copyright/CLA-guidance-Jun06.doc
Copyright and the VLE
For questions in relation to copyright and Yorkshare, the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), contact the E-Learning Development Team, and see:
http://www.york.ac.uk/services/library/publications/guides/copyright.htm
Copying from Archives and Manuscripts
Most unpublished archive and manuscript material is still in copyright – regardless of its age. Advice on copying from original archival sources and historical manuscripts held by the University can be sought from the Borthwick Institute for Archives . For further information on the Borthwick ’s holdings and contact details, see:
Intellectual Property, Patents, and Copyright in Research
For intellectual property questions in the context of research and research funding, protecting and exploiting intellectual property, and the ownership of copyright, contact the Research Support Office.
University Regulations and Policies
- IPR and University Research:
- Computer use and computing facilities:
- Copyright in thesis abstracts
http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/aso/ordreg/r2-8.htm (Regulation 2.8.3 (n))
- University Records Management Policy
Plagiarism
Information on plagiarism can be found in departmental guidance, the University’s website and its regulations on academic misconduct. Links to generic guidance and advice on copyright, plagiarism and ethical guidelines for students and researchers can also be found at
http://www.york.ac.uk/services/library/subjects/researchmethods.htm
Copyright and Freedom of Information and Subject Access Requests
While copyright legislation does not, of itself, prevent the disclosure of information under the Freedom of Information and Data Protection Acts, copyright in such information will persist and the rights of the copyright holder will not be affected. Further information can be found at
http://www.york.ac.uk/recordsmanagement/foi/foicopyright.htm
External sources of information on copyright
- Links to external guidance on copyright issues.