Test your knowledge of copyright by watching this video from the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA)
Category: FAQ on copyright
In this post, you will find the answers to most of the copyright questions
Can I apply a CC licence to my work if it incorporates non-CC licensed material?
It depends on the purpose of your publication.
Technically, yes, you may apply one of the Creative Commons licences to your work even if it incorporates material used under fair dealing, which is another exception or limitation to copyright. Still, it is important to prominently mark any third-party material so re-users do not think the Creative Commons licence applies to that material.
The Creative Commons licence only applies to the rights you have in the work. For example, if your Creative Commons licensed slide deck includes a Flickr image you are using under any exceptions to copyright law, make sure to identify that image as not subject to the Creative Commons licence. For more information about incorporating work owned by others, see our page about marking third-party content.
Suppose you publish a new creation, for example, an Open Access journal article. In that case, it is better to seek permission from the copyright holder, making it clear that you will apply an open licence to the whole work. Whilst they’ll indicate to readers that their copyrighted resource is excluded from this licence, you cannot control downstream use. Unfortunately, it may increase the chance that the third-party copyright owner will reject the request, compared to a request for a ‘paywalled’ publication where distribution is more limited.
Extract from the Creative Commons’ Frequently Asked Questions webpage. It is available from https://creativecommons.org/faq/#may-i-apply-a-cc-license-to-my-work-if-it-incorporates-material-used-under-fair-use-or-another-exception-or-limitation-to-copyright [accessed on 2 February 2022]
The author takes no responsibility for the content of this page, which is not intended as binding legal advice. The views are about copyright in the UK Higher Education sector context.
How long does copyright last?
Copyright protection starts as soon as a work is created.
The duration (length) of copyright is very complex. It depends on various factors, such as the type of work when it was created, whether it was published or unpublished, whether the author is identifiable and the geographical jurisdiction where the law applies.
Once your copyright has expired, a work falls in the public domain, and anyone can use or copy it. Any reproduction of work in the public domain may be freshly subject to copyright.
Since copyright law is territorial, one work may be in the public domain in one country but not another. In the UK, the copyright expires as follows:
| Work type | Expiration | ||
| Literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works | 70 years after the death of the author | ||
| Film | 70 years after the death of the last of the following persons: director; author of the screenplay; author of the dialogue (if different); composer of the music specially created for the film | ||
| Sound recording | 50 years from the year in which the recording was made or, if published, 70 years from publication | ||
| Broadcasts | 50 years from transmission | ||
| Typographical arrangements | 25 years from publication |
The author takes no responsibility for the content of this page, which is not intended as binding legal advice. The views are about copyright in the UK Higher Education sector context.
How can I reference an image without knowing the original source?
If you wish to reuse an image or diagram, reference it. If you do not know the original source to cite, you can use image reverse search engines such as Tineye.
The site will be able to upload the image or insert a URL. The filters will enable you to find the other places where the image has been used; following the links, you will see either the source or information about it.
The author takes no responsibility for the content of this page, which is not intended as binding legal advice. The views are about copyright in the UK Higher Education sector context.
Can I create an audio recording from a book?
Creating audio from books is considered an adaptation; therefore, you would require permission unless you have a strong case that your use falls under fair dealing or one of the exceptions to copyright law.
For example, if students were to read a portion of a book for the final assessment on a voice or acting module, the recording would be limited to the exam and for marking with the sole purpose of graduating. It would be fair dealing—the initial recital and recording fall under the exception of Illustration for instruction (S.32).
Let’s stretch it a bit. Let’s say the lecturer would like students to read portions of various books that first years have to read and make available to freshers as audiobooks. The purpose here changes from just examination purposes; the tutor will make the recording available for future students to listen to so that future students can be inspired by listening to recent graduates read.
Performance of a work falls under the exception to copyright law – an audiobook is a performance that falls under the exception of Public reading and performance (s.59) therefore since the recording will be available to students for free, and the recording will be from different books (versus the entire content of a single book) there would not be any commercial gain. The recording will need to be accompanied by a sufficient acknowledgement. The portion read should come from different books or, even better, from outside of the copyrighted text.
However, if the students were to recite different portions of the same book, which are then going to be stuck together to comprise the entire content of the book, whilst the assessment activity would still be acceptable, the final compiled product for the first years falls out of the fair dealing requirement of s.32 and the conditions of s.59 relating to “a reasonable extract”.
The author takes no responsibility for the content of this page, which is not intended as binding legal advice. The views are about copyright in the UK Higher Education sector context.
Can I create an audio recording from a book?
Creating audio from books is considered an adaptation; therefore, you would require permission unless you have a strong case that your use falls under fair dealing or one of the exceptions to copyright law.
For example, if students were to read a portion of a book for the final assessment on a voice or acting module, the recording would be limited to the exam and for marking with the sole purpose of graduating, then it would be fair dealing. The initial recital and recording fall under the exception of Illustration for instruction (S.32).
Let’s stretch it a bit. Let’s say the lecturer would like students to read portions of various books that first years have to read and make available to freshers as audiobooks. The purpose here changes from just examination purposes; the tutor will make the recording available for future students to listen to so that future students can be inspired by listening to recent graduates read.
Performance of a work falls under the exception to copyright law – an audiobook is a performance that falls under the exception of Public reading and performance (s.59) therefore since the recording will be available to students for free, and the recording will be from different books (versus the entire content of a single book) there would not be any commercial gain. Portion read should come from different books accompanied by a sufficient acknowledgement or, even better, from out of copyright text. The recording could even be published more widely via a platform like those on Open Culture, provided those participating students have consented in writing.
However, if the students were to recite different portions of the same book, which are then going to be stuck together to comprise the entire content of the book, whilst the assessment activity would still be acceptable, the final compiled product for the first years falls out of the fair dealing requirement of s.32 and the conditions of s.59 relating to “a reasonable extract”.
The author takes no responsibility for the content of this page, which is not intended as binding legal advice. The views are about copyright in the UK Higher Education sector context.
Can I screen movies for a students’ Film Club society?
Would a student film club be allowed to screen films from BoB or on DVD from a library collection without breaching copyright/licensing terms?
Let’s assume that the aim of screening films is to explore sociological concepts for exploration and discussion among students. It’s related to the student’s studies, i.e., for instruction and not for social events. Onsite screenings would be covered under an exception in the law for performing, playing or showing work in the course of activities of an educational establishment. Still, they have to be strictly limited to staff and students of the institution. You couldn’t use this for anything open to the general public (or invited guests/family members of students).
You should always encourage whoever hosts the screenings to promote them as an educational resource rather than entertainment, and then you have a strong defence if ever challenged, however unlikely.
Also, the exception for criticism, review, quotation and news reporting might apply, but it depends on how easy it is to argue that showing a whole film is fair dealing.
A ‘public’ screening always requires permission and licensing, regardless of whether a fee is charged or not or for charity fundraising purposes.
The author takes no responsibility for the content of this page, which is not intended as binding legal advice. The views are about copyright in the UK Higher Education sector context.
Can I use software screenshots planned to be made freely/openly available online as part of a training resource?
This type of use falls under the exception in copyright law illustration for instruction.
It constitutes a low risk as long as it doesn’t compete with the product (for example, if the product owner were to sell separate videos on how to use the product, which usually is highly unlikely).
It’s no different from the many ‘How to’ videos you find on YouTube that don’t appear to be taken down.
Some software licences may even include permission to make copies/screenshots for user training purposes.
The author takes no responsibility for the content of this page, which is not intended as binding legal advice. The views are about copyright in the UK Higher Education sector context.
Why shouldn’t we link directly to PDFs?
Links to PDFs change more frequently than a journal’s article landing page, for example. Therefore, linking directly to PDFs will cause links to break often, and the resources offered to students will be of high maintenance.
Unless copyright exceptions and licences permit it, the law will not allow you to redistribute the PDF freely to students.
What about hyperlinks and copyright?
How do I link to e-published articles?
How do I find a legal version of an e-publication?
What about hyperlinks and copyright?
The author takes no responsibility for the content of this page, which is not intended as binding legal advice. The views are about copyright in the UK Higher Education sector context.
Notes on accessing newspaper articles online
Articles can generally be accessed on Locate when the library subscribes to the newspaper’s back issues.
Independent journalists write articles, but sometimes they aren’t available through subscriptions like the library’s. This may be due to the contract independent journalists have with that newspaper and the newspaper’s contract with that distribution platform.
Sometimes the newspaper makes the article available online for a while, but then has to take it down for contractual reasons.
It may be inconvenient, but that is how independent journalists earn a living and maintain their clout.
If the article is part of essential reading, you could try to seek permission from the journalist. Unfortunately, Coventry University doesn’t hold a Newspaper Licensing Agency (NLA) educational licence.
You may also try another avenue by asking a subject librarian if the article can be obtained through another licence, such as the CLA one.
Additionally, if a specific article previously openly available online is becoming fiddly to find, it is because it is in the process of being removed – search engines’ crawlers are still finding traces of it, but eventually, they will lose track – you might as well find an alternative resource to ensure longevity in the course (unless you obtain permission).
The author takes no responsibility for the content of this page, which is not intended as binding legal advice. The views are about copyright in the UK Higher Education sector context.