Thursday, 12 November 2015

How do copyright laws apply to me?

Copyright laws can affect the day to day work we complete.

When researching and studying, people can often unknowingly breach copyright laws when they copy and paste an image or section of text without acknowledging them as sources. In this situation, to avoid breaching the regulations you should always ensure that you have a list of sources (known as a bibliography) at the end of your work, and make it clear that work is not yours by, for example, using quotation marks if a large section of text has been directly copied, or rewording smaller sections of text.


Using the Work of Others

Illegal or unauthorised use of another's work can lead to legal action and, in some cases, criminal charges. 

You can only use the work of others if:
     Copyright has expired
     Your use of the work is deemed fair under the 1998 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
     Your use of the work is covered under a licensing scheme that you have subscribed to and the copyright holder is a member of
     You have been given permission by the copyright owner

Notable licensing schemes include: 

Fair Dealing

Fair dealing - The term used to describe activities allowed without infringing copyright.

Copying work for the purpose of research or private study is allowed if:
     The copy is made for the purposes of research or private study
     The copy is made for non-commercial purposes
     The source of the material is acknowledged
     The person making the copy does not make copies of the material available for multiple people

Copying work for the purpose of instruction or examination is allowed if:
     The copying is done by a student or the person giving instruction
     The copying is not done via a reprographic process
     The source of the material is acknowledged
     The instruction is for a non-commercial purpose

Copying work for the purpose of criticism or review is allowed if:
     The work has been made available to the public
     The source of the material is acknowledged
     The material quoted must be accompanied by some actual discussion or assessment
     The amount of material quoted is no more than necessary

Copying work for the purpose of reporting current events is allowed if:
     The work is not a photograph
     The source of the material is acknowledged
     The amount of material quoted is no more than necessary

If you are unsure if your use of a material complies with fair dealing restrictions then you should obtain explicit permission from the copyright owner.

Source(s): copyrightservice.co.uk

The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998

The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act is current UK law. It gives the creators of literary, dramatic, artistic and musical works the ability to control and limit the way their work is used by others, and rights cover broadcast/public performance, copying, adapting, issuing, renting/lending to the public. 

When do rights occur?
Copyright is an automatic right, and arises whenever an individual or company creates a piece of work regarded as an original.
Names, titles, short phrases and colours are not usually considered unique enough to be covered by copyright laws.
Work that expresses an idea is protected, but the actual idea is not. (E.g. An idea for a book is not protected, but the actual content of the book is. Another person can still write around the same idea, as long as they are not directly copying.)

Restricted Acts
Without consent of the owner, it is against the law to:
     Copy the work
     Rent, lend or issue copies of the work to the public
     Perform, broadcast or show the work in public
     Adapt the work
Legal acts include:
     Private and research study purposes
     Performance, copies or lending for educational purposes
     Criticism and news reporting
     Incidental inclusion
     Copies and lending by librarians
     Format shifting or back up of a work yo own for personal use
     Caricature, parody or pastiche
     Acts for the purposes of royal commissions, statutory enquiries, judicial proceedings and parliamentary purposes
     Recording of broadcasts for the purposes of listening or viewing at a more convenient time
     Producing a back up copy for personal use of a computer program

Source(s): copyrightservice.co.uk