Copyright guide: how much can be copied?

Books, journals and law reports

The amount that can be copied under the fair dealing provisions of the 1988 Act is undefined, but the CLA licence sets out clearly defined limits on copying from books, journals, conference proceedings, anthologies of short stories or poems and law reports. For more information, see CLA at:

http://www.cla.co.uk

Newspapers

The University routinely obtains a licence from the Newspaper Licensing Agency for the copying of international, national, regional and local newspapers. The standard licence allows photocopying and faxing of press cuttings for educational purposes and covers copying of most UK national newspapers as well as some local and regional papers including the Yorkshire Post and the Sheffield Star. It also covers some titles from other countries. For more information see:

Copyright Licences held by the University of Sheffield

Microforms

Microforms (microfilm or microfiche) attract copyright in the same way as photographs. A microfilm containing several different documents may also be a database. If the work that has been filmed is still in copyright there are two copyrights: one in the original document and one in the microform. Making a new copy would require permission from the rights holder. Even if the work photographed is out of copyright there is still copyright in the microform. A library may make microform copies of works in its collection to preserve them if the original documents are out of copyright.

Theses and dissertations

It is possible to make copies of copyright material for the purposes of answering an examination and this applies to theses and dissertations. However, should the author later wish to publish the thesis or dissertation, written permissions must be obtained for all such material. It is good practice to acknowledge sources of quotations when they are included in theses or dissertations.

Theses and dissertations are unpublished works and the right to make copies depends on who owns the copyright. In some cases this will be the student but, where an agreement has been reached and signed by the student copyright may belong to the awarding university. Permission to copy the work should be obtained from the author in the first instance unless a declaration has been signed, usually by both the student and the university, allowing access and/or copying.

British Standards

The University Library subscribes to British Standards Online. All registered students and staff of the University of Sheffield regardless of location can use this service. All use other than for educational or research for non-commercial purposes is prohibited.

Each user may print one hard copy or download a single electronic copy of any standard for internal use on University premises. These copies may not be used to build up a hard copy or electronic reference collection. A standard may also be copied for inclusion in a specification or tender for external submission.

Further information about British Standards Online may be obtained from:

http://www.shef.ac.uk/library/cdfiles/bsi.html

Crown and Parliamentary copyright material

Some Crown copyright material and Bills of Parliament are covered by waiver conditions. This covers material where copyright is asserted, but waived. Waiver material can be re-used free of charge without requiring a formal licence provided that it is:

• acknowledged
• not used in a misleading way
• reproduced accurately and kept up to date

The Office of Public Sector Information provides advice and guidance on official publishing and Crown copyright at:

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/advice/crown-copyright/copyright-guidance/index.htm

The University does not currently have a Click-Use Licence, so you should apply for copyright permission for any copying that falls outside the scope of the guidance available.

Maps

The Ordnance Survey licence permits copies to be made for teaching purposes only, either as teaching aids for lecturers, projects or exams set for students. The University does not hold other map licences, such as the British Geological Survey licence, covering multiple copying of maps for teaching purposes. Copying is restricted to a fair dealing limit of a single extract of A3 size from one map at scale (i.e. not enlarged), for the purposes of research for a non-commercial purpose or private study. The following copyright acknowledgment is shown on or near each map image (c) Crown Copyright Ordnance Survey. All rights reserved. If a map is over 50 years old you may copy as much as you like.

Slides or transparencies

One slide or transparency, but not from photographic works, may be made to accompany a lecture provided that the slide or transparency cannot be purchased from a commercial source. Copying of artistic works by students on to slides for project work falls under the fair dealing provisions of the 1988 Act as long as subsequent reproductions are not made without permission.

Slides or transparencies made to accompany lectures and other transparencies made from illustrations, photographs or plates in books or other published works may not be used to build up a slide library as the University does not have a Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS) licence to do this. Only those transparencies that have been purchased from a commercial source, or that have been made with the permission of the copyright owner, or that have been made from sources that are out of copyright should be included in a slide collection.

Printed music

The extent of permissible copying of printed music is governed by the Music Publishers' Association's Code of Fair Practice agreed between composers, publishers and users of printed music. A copy of the Code of Practice is available from:

http://www.mpaonline.org.uk/Publications/The_Code_of_Fair_Practice_in_Full.html