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Copyright Information for Students

Guide containing information on copyright for UHI students.

Higher Education

  • Up to one chapter or 10%, whichever is greater, of a book
  • One article from an issue of a journal
  • One whole scene from a play 
  • One poem or short story of up to ten pages from an anthology
  • One whole scene from a play 
  • One whole paper from a set of conference proceedings  
  • Or 10% of the total publication, whichever is the greater 
  • Where a digital publication is not organised in a similar way to conventional printed items, you are advised to exercise your best judgement to copy reasonable extracts

Further Education

  • Up to one chapter or 5%, whichever is greater, of a book
  • One article from an issue of a journal
  • One whole scene from a play 
  • One poem or short story of up to ten pages from an anthology
  • One whole scene from a play 
  • One whole paper from a set of conference proceedings  
  • Or 5% of the total publication, whichever is the greater 
  • Where a digital publication is not organised in a similar way to conventional printed items, you are advised to exercise your best judgement to copy reasonable extracts

Fair Dealing

‘Fair dealing’ is a legal term used to decide if the use of copyrighted material is legal or if it is breaking copyright law.

Fair dealing is governed by Sections 29 and 30 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The following occasions are when fair dealing is a legitimate defence:

  1. If the material is being used for the private study or purposes of research
  2. If the material is being used for illustration for instruction (e.g., used in a lecture, a thesis, or an examination)
  3. If the material is being used to report current events (this does not apply to photographs)
  4. If the material is being used for research of a non-commercial nature
  5. If the material is being used for text and/or data analysis, for non-commercial purposes (not limited to fair dealing)
  6. If the material is being used for criticism or review

​​As there is no statutory definition of fair dealing, you should ask yourself if your use of the work is fair and honest.

Factors you should consider when deciding if using a particular work is fair dealing include:

  • Does using the work cause the owner to lose income because it replaces the need for you or anyone else to buy the work? If yes then the copying is probably not fair.
  • Is the amount of the work taken a reasonable and appropriate size? Was it necessary to use the amount that you did? Usually only part of a work may be used.
  • Is the copy being made for the person doing the copying, and no-one else? It cannot be passed on to anyone else and is for personal use only.