Copyright law in the UK is a complex and important area that impacts many aspects of society, including education and research. Those in the academic community need to understand how copyright law affects their work, both in terms of the use of existing materials and the creation of new works. This article aims to provide an overview of copyright law in the UK and its implications for education and research, including the rights and responsibilities of creators, users, and institutions.
Introduction to copyright law in the UK
By understanding the legal framework around copyright in the UK, academics can navigate the use and creation of copyrighted materials with confidence and compliance. Education and research are always really important when it comes to copyright law in the UK.
1. Copyright and academic publications
For academic publications, copyright law in the UK works in different ways. Here are how sometimes copyright infringement does not apply. Here are some exceptions to copyright.
There are two main types of academic publishers: subscription and open access, which have different approaches to copyright.
“Copyright ownership must typically be transferred from authors to subscription publishers before the publisher may monetize content by placing paywalls around it. The version of record is the final draft of an article that has been copyedited and typeset by the publisher.
Some publishers occasionally provide their authors certain rights, such as the ability to distribute a set number of copies and the ability to reuse particular sections of the article in other works. Such copies are known as postprints in the electronic format and as reprints in the print format.
When attaching a reuse license to the work, open access publishers allow authors to maintain their copyright while allowing for open sharing, reuse, and adaptation. Such publishers are either supported by larger organizations through subsidies or by charging writers article processing costs (gold OA) (diamond OA). “
2. Copyright clearance and licensing
When taking into consideration copyright law in the UK, copyright clearance and licensing are important and should always be considered first. There are also some exceptions that you might want to know about before proceeding.
3. Exceptions to copyright law for education and research
There are of course a few exceptions to copyright law in the UK that certain works of art or content will possess automatically. These are as follows.
Non-commercial research and private study
Acording to the HM Government website:
“You are allowed to copy limited extracts of works when the use is non-commercial research or private study, but you must be genuinely studying (like you would if you were taking a college course). Such use is only permitted when it is ‘fair dealing’ and copying the whole work would not generally be considered fair dealing.
The purpose of this exception is to allow students and researchers to make limited copies of all types of copyright works for non-commercial research or private study. In assessing whether your use of the work is permitted or not you must assess if there is any financial impact on the copyright owner because of your use. Where the impact is not significant, the use may be acceptable.
If your use is for non-commercial research you must ensure that the work you reproduce is supported by a sufficient acknowledgement.”
Text and data mining for non-commercial research
Relating to Copyright Law in the UK, acording to the HM Government website it says:
“Text and data mining is the use of automated analytical techniques to analyse text and data for patterns, trends and other useful information. Text and data mining usually requires copying of the work to be analysed.
An exception to copyright exists which allows researchers to make copies of any copyright material for the purpose of computational analysis if they already have the right to read the work (that is, they have ‘lawful access’ to the work). This exception only permits the making of copies for the purpose of text and data mining for non-commercial research. Researchers will still have to buy subscriptions to access material; this could be from many sources including academic publishers.
Publishers and content providers will be able to apply reasonable measures to maintain their network security or stability but these measures should not prevent or unreasonably restrict researchers’ ability to text and data mine. Contract terms that stop researchers making copies to carry out text and data mining will be unenforceable.”
Criticism, review and reporting current events
For Copyright Law in the UK In regards to Criticism, review and reporting current events, The HM Government website says this:
“Fair dealing for criticism, review or quotation is allowed for any type of copyright work. Fair dealing with a work for the purpose of reporting current events is allowed for any type of copyright work other than a photograph. In each of these cases, a sufficient acknowledgement will be required.
As stated, a photograph cannot be reproduced for the purpose of reporting current events. The intention of the law is to prevent newspapers or magazines reproducing photographs for reporting current events which have appeared in competitor’s publications.”
Teaching
In regards to copyright law in UK, there are several exceptions allow copyright works to be used for educational purposes, such as:
“The copying of works in any medium as long as the use is solely to illustrate a point, it is not done for commercial purposes, it is accompanied by a sufficient acknowledgement, and the use is fair dealing. This means minor uses, such as displaying a few lines of poetry on an interactive whiteboard, are permitted, but uses which would undermine sales of teaching materials are not.
Performing, playing or showing copyright works in a school, university or other educational establishment for educational purposes. However, it only applies if the audience is limited to teachers, pupils and others directly connected with the activities of the establishment. It will not generally apply if parents are in the audience. Examples of this are showing a video for English or drama lessons and the teaching of music. It is unlikely to include the playing of a video during a wet playtime purely to amuse the children.
Recording a TV programme or radio broadcast for non-commercial educational purposes in an educational establishment, provided there is no licensing scheme in place. Generally a licence will be required from the Educational Recording Agency.
Making copies by using a photocopier, or similar device on behalf of an educational establishment for the purpose of non-commercial instruction, provided that there is no licensing scheme in place. Generally a licence will be required from the Copyright Licensing Agency.”
Time-shifting
Time-shifting is a slightly more unusual and less cited projection in regards to Copyright Law in UK. But here is what the HM Government website has to say about it:
“A recording of a broadcast can be made in domestic premises for private and domestic use to enable it to be viewed or listened to at a more convenient time.
The making of a recording of a broadcast for purposes other than to time-shift a programme for you or your family is likely to be illegal.“
Parody, caricature and pastiche
A much-used form of protection from Copyright law in UK is of course parody. This is how large TV shows like Family Guy can make content featuring other IPs without ever getting in trouble. Here is what the HM Government website has to offer on parody:
“There is an exception to copyright that permits people to use limited amounts of copyright material without the owner’s permission for the purpose of parody, caricature or pastiche.
For example a comedian may use a few lines from a film or song for a parody sketch; a cartoonist may reference a well known artwork or illustration for a caricature; an artist may use small fragments from a range of films to compose a larger pastiche artwork.
It is important to understand, however, that this exception only permits use for the purposes of caricature, parody, or pastiche to the extent that it is fair dealing.”
Sufficient acknowledgement
In relation to certain exceptions, if you are making use of that exception to copy someone else’s work it is necessary for you to sufficiently acknowledge their work. For example, where you have copied all or a substantial part of a work for the purposes of criticism or review, or where the use was for the purposes of news reporting.
However such acknowledgement is not required where it is impossible for reasons of practicality.
Fair dealing
In relation to copyright law in the UK and what it has to do with fair dealing let’s see what the HM Government website has to say about it:
“Certain exceptions only apply if the use of the work is a ‘fair dealing’. For example, the exceptions relating to research and private study, criticism or review, or news reporting.
‘Fair dealing’ is a legal term used to establish whether a use of copyright material is lawful or whether it infringes copyright. There is no statutory definition of fair dealing – it will always be a matter of fact, degree and impression in each case. The question to be asked is: how would a fair-minded and honest person have dealt with the work?
Factors that have been identified by the courts as relevant in determining whether a particular dealing with a work is fair include:
- does using the work affect the market for the original work? If a use of a work acts as a substitute for it, causing the owner to lose revenue, then it is not likely to be fair
- is the amount of the work taken reasonable and appropriate? Was it necessary to use the amount that was taken? Usually only part of a work may be used
The relative importance of any one factor will vary according to the case in hand and the type of dealing in question.”
4. Challenges of copyright law in the digital age
Here are some things we are going to want to watch out for what copyright law in the UK means for the digital age.
5. Online Piracy
There will be a focus on online piracy which has grown as a result of how simple it is to duplicate and share digital content, which has made it a top issue for copyright holders. Because of this, copyright law in the Uk will change because legislation will probably keep changing to solve this problem and strengthen protection for digital content. Piracy is very important to copyright law in UK.
6. Extension of the fair use doctrine
Fair use is very important regarding copyright law in the UK, and under the fair use doctrine, certain uses of copyrighted material are permitted without the owner’s consent, including those related to criticism, commentary, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. The fair use doctrine may be expanded to permit additional uses of copyrighted material without authorization as digital technology makes it simpler to create and share content.
7. Adoption of new licensing models
New licensing arrangements that provide content creators more control over their work while yet allowing others to use it are emerging as a result of the growth of digital content. For instance, some authors may decide to make their work available under a Creative Commons license, which enables anyone to use it provided they give proper credit to the author.
8. Open access and open educational resources
Education is a fundamental right, and with so many different copyright rules surrounding different works of art and content, it can be easy to see how education might be affected by it.
However, people’s right to learn should always be protected and that’s why educational and open-access resources are often safe from copyright law in the UK.
References
- United Kingdom (Wikipedia.ORG)
- Academic Publications (Wikipedia.ORG)
- Exceptions to copyright (GOV.UK)
- HM Government website (GOV.UK)
- Educational Recording Agency (ERA.ORG.UK)
- How copyright protects your work (GOV.UK)
Related posts
- Settlement for The Weeknd in copyright claim
- 6 Aspects Of Work Discrimination To Consider: What Employers Need to Know
- Top 5 Defamation Cases in the UK and What We Can Learn from Them
- Why should you protect your Intellectual Property?
- Hermes attempts for injunction to prevent Metabirkins from selling their NFTs
