COPYRIGHT
Bodleian Libraries
Copyright is a large subject, but the following general points outline it and may be useful.
This summary does not cover all eventualities.
Copyright is:
o a property right in certain types of work,
o that have been made in a certain way,
o that are the original products of skill, labour and judgment by
the author,
o and whose duration is for a fixed period,
o which gives the owner the power to control use of a
substantial part,
o but which does not give the owner a monopoly in facts or
ideas,
o and which is subject to permissions and certain defined
exceptions.
 Property right
Copyright restricts the extent to which anyone other than the
owner may use in whole or in part any original literary, dramatic,
musical or artistic work.. It is one of a range of Intellectual
Property Rights (IPRs), which fall into five main groups:
IPRs
Copyright
Patents
Trade marks
Designs
Confidence
Moral rights
Database right
Publication right
Performers’ rights
Rental and
lending right
Patents for
invention
Plant breeders’
rights
Passing off
Geographical
indications of
origin
Registered
designs
Design right
Semi-conductor
topography right
Know-how
Secrets
Privacy
 Work
o A literary work is a work which is composed of words,
numbers (eg a computer program) or symbols. There is no
requirement of literary quality.
o An artistic work may be two-dimensional or threedimensional, and can consist of text. There is no requirement
of artistic quality.
o A dramatic work is a work to be performed: eg ballet
choreography, a film screenplay
o A musical work is music, including its notation
o A film is a recording of moving images. There was no
copyright in a film (as distinct from its screenplay) before 1
June 1957, a film was a series of photographs (artistic works)
o A sound recording is a recording of sounds, such as of birds,
music or a book being read
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o A broadcast is the signal, as distinct from the content
o A typographical arrangement of a published edition is the
appearance of the printed page
o A single item may contain more than one copyright works.
 Made
Copyright works except broadcasts must be fixed in a material
form, including writing, drawing, saving on disc, recording.
Copyright arises automatically as soon as the work is fixed.
 Original
A literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or a film must be
‘original’, meaning it originated with its author and is ‘an
intellectual creation of the author reflecting his personality’. See
also ‘substantial part’.
 Author
o The author is the person who creates the work, and is normally
the person who also fixes it: the person who writes the text,
the artist, photographer, playwright, composer. For a film it is
the principal director and producer jointly. For a sound
recording it is the producer. For a typographical arrangement
it is the publisher.
o The author is important, as the author’s life normally
determines duration even if an employer or someone else is
the owner
 Duration
o Copyright expires at a date according to the provisions of
current legislation ie Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988, as amended. The standard term is to the end of the year
70 years after the author’s death. Standard term applies even
to works by employees.
o The standard term of copyright does not always apply, notably
to unpublished works. See the chart on the duration of
copyright for a summary
o For most works in Crown copyright duration is unconnected
with the date of the author’s death.
 Owner
o The first owner of copyright is normally the author. If the
author produced the work as an employee, the employer is
first owner. NB: a student is not an employee, an apprentice is
o Commissioned works: first owner is always now the author
o Commissioned photographs and portraits (eg painted, drawn)
commissioned and fully paid for before 1 August 1989: owner
was the person commissioning it
o Non-commissioned photographs 1912-1989: owner of the
negative at the moment the photograph was taken
o Crown:
 a work created or first published before 1 August 1989
under the direction or control of the Crown; or
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
a work created by an officer or servant of the Crown in the
course of his duties on or after 1 August 1989
o Ownership of a document does not necessarily mean
ownership of copyright in it.
o Death or dissolution of a rights owner do not mean the
copyright ceases. There is always a successor, though the
work might be ‘orphan’.
o Ownership can be assigned, even before the work is created eg
in a commissioning contract
 Use
o Restricted uses include
 copying;
 publication;
 communication to the public by wire or wireless means
(including on the Internet);
 performance, playing or showing in public; and
 adaptation (eg translation).
o Use without permission is a primary infringement.
o Restrictions also protect rights management information and
copy protection systems on electronic materials.
o The authorising of an infringement is itself a primary
infringement.
 Substantial
The use of an insubstantial part, measured primarily qualitatively,
is not an infringement.
 Facts or ideas
o There is no copyright in a general idea or fact, but there can be
copyright in the manner in which an idea is expressed in a
material form or in the essence of a work regardless of the
manner of expression.
 Permissions
o Once a work is out of copyright or if it is not protected by
copyright, it may be reproduced without infringement,
provided the owner or custodian of the original document
gives consent.
o If you have a licence from the rights owner you may do
anything authorised by the licence. This could include the
authority to sub-license, subject to any specified conditions.
o Many online works are available under a Creative Commons
licence. Beware: it is irrevocable. Ensure you have the right to
license
o Educational multiple copying and online access by students
and staff is licensed by the CLA: limits apply
o Educational copying of broadcasts is licensed by ERA
o Licensing of the playing and recording of music is by PRS for
Music and of the playing of recordings is by PPL
o Licensing of artistic works is largely by DACS
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
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Exceptions
Subject to certain limitations, there is no infringement by fair
dealing with any work so long as the use is fair and is for the
purposes of:
 private copying for the user alone
 private study
 non-commercial research
 quotation, including for criticism or review
 education, including examination
 current news reporting (except photographs)
so long as the work and the author are acknowledged unless to
do so is impossible.
Archivists responsible for public records may copy them for
users or authorise copying without infringement.
A reasonable proportion of any published work, one article in
a journal or the whole of an unpublished work may be copied
for a user by a librarian or archivist, and may be used without
the permission of the copyright owner for purposes of private
study or research for a non-commercial purpose if the user
first makes a declaration in writing (eg by email) to the
librarian or archivist
Where a literary, dramatic or musical work, and an illustration
to it, is open to public inspection in an archive or similar
institution, was made more than 100 years ago, the owner has
been dead for at least 50 years, and the identity of the present
copyright owner is unknown to the publisher, a copy may be
supplied and it may be published without permission.
A library, archive or museum may make a copy of any work in
its permanent collection that is available to the public but not
for loan, for preservation purposes and may make a
replacement copy for another library, archive or museum
From 29 October, two ‘Orphan Works’ schemes permit use of
works whose rights owner is unknown after a diligent search
for the rights owner of each one:
 the EU scheme permits libraries, archives, museums and
educational establishments to make orphan works
available online non-commercially. The diligent search
must be registered at OHIM
 the UK scheme permits anyone to use an orphan work
commercially or non-commercially within the UK, on
receipt of a licence from the IPO and payment of a fee.
The diligent search must be registered with the IPO
A disabled person may make, or have made (eg by a librarian),
an ‘accessible copy’ of a work for personal use, unless an
accessible copy is available commercially
An educational establishment or a body not conducted for
profit may make accessible copies and intermediate copies of
published works and of broadcasts for the personal use of
disabled people, unless accessible copies are available
commercially
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Bibliography
Tim Padfield, Copyright for Archivists and Records Managers (Facet, 4th ed)
Graham Cornish, Copyright: interpreting the law for libraries, archives and information
services (Facet, 5th ed)
Lionel Bently and Brad Sherman, Intellectual Property Law (OUP, 3rd ed)
Kevin Garnett et al, Copinger and Skone James on Copyright (Sweet & Maxwell, 15th ed)
Laddie et al, The Modern Law of Copyright and Designs (LexisNexis, 4th ed)
Bodleian Libraries copyright guidance:
http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/using/copyright
The National Archives copyright guidance:
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/legal/copyright.htm
Writers, Artists and Their Copyright Holders (WATCH) database:
http://norman.hrc.utexas.edu/watch/
Intellectual Property Office:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/intellectual-property-office
UK legislation:
www.legislation.gov.uk
OHIM
https://oami.europa.eu/ohimportal/en/
Creative Commons:
www.creativecommons.org.uk
Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA):
www.cla.co.uk
Educational Recording Agency (ERA):
www.era.org.uk
PRS for Music:
www.prsformusic.com
Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL)
www.ppluk.com
Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS):
www.dacs.org.uk
T R Padfield
22 October 2014
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DURATION OF COPYRIGHT
Literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works (excluding Crown copyright)
Is the author known?
No
Yes
Is the work a literary, dramatic or musical work,
a photograph or an engraving, created before
1 August 1989?
Was the work created before 1 January 1969?
Yes
No
No
Is the work a photograph created before 1 June 1957?
Is the work a photograph taken before 1 June 1957?
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
Was the work published before 1 August 1989?
Yes
Was the work published before 1 August 1989?
No
Yes
Has the work ever been made
available to the public?
No
Did the author die more than
20 years before publication?
Yes
Yes
No
No
Did the author die before
1 January 1969?
No
Yes
Was the work first made available to the
public before 1 January 1969?
Yes
Copyright
expires 70 years
after first
publication
Copyright
expires on 31
December
2039
No
Copyright expires
70 years after the
work was made
available to the
public
Copyright expires 70
years after creation or
70 years after the work
was made available to
the public if within 70
years of creation
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Copyright
expires 70
years after
the death of
the author
Copyright
expires 50
years after first
publication
Copyright
expires 70
years after the
death of the
author
Copyright
expires on 31
December 2039
DURATION OF CROWN COPYRIGHT
Literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works
Was the work created before 1 August 1989?
Yes
No
Is the work a photograph or engraving?
No
Yes
Is the work an artistic work?
No
Is the work a photograph?
Yes
Yes
Was the work
published after 1
August 1989?
Yes
Was the work published
commercially less than 75
years after creation?
Yes
Copyright
expires 50
years after
publication
Was the work created
before 1 June 1957?
No
Yes
Was the work
published before 1
August 1989?
No
Copyright expires
125 years after
creation or on 31
December 2039,
whichever is later
No
No
No
No
Was the work published
before 1 August 1989?
Yes
Copyright
expires 50
years after
publication
Has the work been
published?
Yes
Copyright
expires 50
years after
creation
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Copyright
expires 50
years after
publication
No
Copyright
expires on 31
December
2039
Yes
Was the work published
commercially less than 75
years after creation?
No
Copyright
expires 125
years after
creation
Yes
Copyright
expires 50
years after
publication