Exceptions are also known as ‘permitted acts’. Reusing a copyrighted work under an exception does not require permission from the copyright owner. All exceptions listed below come from the current UK copyright legislation (Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988) and are applicable in its jurisdiction.
| Exception | Section 29: Research and private study | ||
| Category | Research/Education | ||
| Summary | You can make a single copy of a fair dealing amount for non-commercial research or private study | ||
| Commercial use allowed? | No | ||
| Contractual override allowed? | No | ||
| Fair dealing? | Yes | ||
| Potential application | Photocopying a chapter of a book to research a topic for an essay |
| Exception | Section 29A: Copies for text and data analysis for non-commercial research | ||
| Category | Research/Education | ||
| Summary | You can copy works for text and data mining providing you have lawful access | ||
| Commercial use allowed? | No | ||
| Contractual override allowed? | No | ||
| Fair dealing? | No | ||
| Potential application | Extracting articles from a database to carry out a linguistic frequency analysis |
| Exception | Section 30: Criticism, review, quotation and news reporting | ||
| Category | Research/Education | ||
| Summary | You can copy part of a work for these purposes The quotation element was introduced in 2014 and covers quoting for any purpose. It does not cover unpublished works | ||
| Commercial use allowed? | Yes | ||
| Contractual override allowed? | No | ||
| Fair dealing? | Yes | ||
| Potential application | Criticism: using low-resolution versions of artworks in a thesis to discuss an academic theme Review: using sentences from a newly published book to review it Quotation: using a line of poetry as a decorative backdrop for a poetry event |
| Exception | Section 30A: Caricature, parody or pastiche | ||
| Category | Research/Education | ||
| Summary | You can copy part of a work for this purpose It does not cover unpublished works This exception was introduced in 2014 | ||
| Commercial use allowed? | Yes | ||
| Contractual override allowed? | No | ||
| Fair dealing? | Yes | ||
| Potential application | Using a few lines from a song to create a parody sketch, or using small amounts of a film to create a larger pastiche work |
| Exception | Section 31: Incidental inclusion of copyright material | ||
| Category | Performance | ||
| Summary | Copyright in a work is not infringed by its incidental inclusion in an artistic work, sound recording, film or broadcast. Nor is it infringed by the issue to the public of copies, the playing or showing of the work. Audio (such as musical work, words spoken or sung with music, or a sound recording or broadcast) is excluded from this exception if it is deliberately included. | ||
| Commercial use allowed? | Yes | ||
| Contractual override allowed? | N/A | ||
| Fair dealing? | Yes | ||
| Potential application | Showing in passing copyrighted material that is in the background while filming |
| Exception | Sections 31A and 31B: Accessible copies for disabled users | ||
| Category | Disability | ||
| Summary | Individuals and institutions can make an accessible copy of the whole or part of a work for users with any disability | ||
| Commercial use allowed? | No | ||
| Contractual override allowed? | No | ||
| Fair dealing? | No | ||
| Potential application | Making a large print copy of a book for a visually impaired person, so long as the person has lawful access to the original work |
| Exception | Section 32: Illustration for instruction | ||
| Category | Teaching | ||
| Summary | You can copy part of a work to illustrate a teaching point It is not limited to teaching within an educational establishment | ||
| Commercial use allowed? | No | ||
| Contractual override allowed? | No | ||
| Fair dealing? | Yes | ||
| Potential application | Including a short snippet of a video in a presentation, if the snippet is integral to the teaching point that you’re making |
| Exception | Section 34: Performing, playing or showing work in course of activities of an educational establishment | ||
| Category | Teaching | ||
| Summary | You can perform, play or show a work for purposes of instruction at an educational establishment Members of the public cannot be admitted | ||
| Commercial use allowed? | No | ||
| Contractual override allowed? | Unclear | ||
| Fair dealing? | No | ||
| Potential application | Playing a DVD of an entire film in a class where the film is related to the teaching |
| Exception | Section 35: Recording of broadcasts | ||
| Category | Teaching | ||
| Summary | You can record free-to-air broadcasts on behalf of educational establishments for non-commercial purposes However, the ERA Licence takes precedence over this exception | ||
| Commercial use allowed? | No | ||
| Contractual override allowed? | Yes | ||
| Fair dealing? | No | ||
| Potential application | Making a recording of a television show and playing that recording in class or making it available on a secure Virtual Learning Environment |
| Exception | Section 42: Copying by librarians, etc., replacement copies of works | |||
| Category | Preservation | |||
| Summary | Changing the media of some material to ensure its preservation, like converting analogue recordings into digital, providing that it is not practical to purchase the item (for example a special collection item) | |||
| Commercial use allowed? | No | |||
| Contractual override allowed? | Yes | |||
| Potential application | Changing the media of some material to ensure its preservation, like converting analogue recordings into digital, providing that it is not practical to purchase the item (for example, a special collection item) |
| Exception | Section 59: Public reading and performance | ||
| Category | Teaching | ||
| Summary | You can perform a published literary or dramatic a work | ||
| Commercial use allowed? | No | ||
| Contractual override allowed? | No | ||
| Fair dealing? | Yes | ||
| Potential application | Creating audio recording or acting |
| Exception | Section 62: Representation of certain artistic works on public display | ||
| Category | Performance | ||
| Summary | The copyright in such a work is not infringed by making a graphic work representing it, making a photograph or film of it, or making a broadcast of a visual image of it | ||
| Commercial use allowed? | Yes | ||
| Contractual override allowed? | N/A | ||
| Fair dealing? | Yes | ||
| Potential application | This section applies to buildings, sculptures, models for buildings and works of artistic craftsmanship if permanently situated in a public place or in premises open to the public |
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Adapted from: The University Library. (2022?). Copyright exceptions. [online]. Available from https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/library/copyright/exceptionstab [Access on 25 January 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.