Some copyright exceptions only apply if the use of the work is a ‘fair dealing’.
‘Fair dealing’ is a legal term used to establish whether a use of copyright material is lawful or whether it infringes copyright. There is no statutory definition of fair dealing but factors that have been identified by the courts as relevant in determining whether a particular dealing with a work is fair include:
- Does using the work affect the market for the original work? If a use of a work acts as a substitute for it, causing the owner to lose revenue, then it is not likely to be fair.
- Is the amount of the work used reasonable?
- Is the use of the work appropriate?
- Is it accompanied by a sufficient acknowledgement?
Specific amounts are not defined but general advice suggests the following limits for each of these exceptions:
Non-commercial research and private study
- up to one complete chapter in a book
- up to one whole article in a single issue of a journal or in a set of conference proceedings
- the entire report of a single case in a judicial review
- one short story or one poem not exceeding 10 pages in an anthology of short stories or poems; or
- no more than 10% of any published edition above, whichever is the greater
Criticism, review and quotation
- one extract of no more than 400 words
- several extracts none more than 300 words and totalling not more than 800 words; or
- up to 40 lines from a poem, not exceeding one-quarter of the whole
Illustration for instruction
- one extract of no more than 400 words
- several extracts none more than 300 words and totalling not more than 800 words; or
- up to 40 lines from a poem, not exceeding one-quarter of the whole
