Copying includes printing, photocopying, scanning, ripping, downloading, screen capture, photographing, filming, audio recording, transcribing, and replicating information from any original work, in any form, in your academic work. This applies for both published and unpublished works. It can also include sharing works, such as uploading a version of a source online that is protected by copyright, performing a play, or organising a film club and showing audiovisual material.
Even when you access a source free of charge, such as on the internet, copyright can still apply. A source could be free to access but not necessarily have permissions for re-use or copying.
UK copyright law has a number of exceptions that allow you to make copies of copyrighted materials, or to use them in your academic work. The key exceptions relevant to student use of copyrighted material are:
Private study
Criticism, review, or quotation
Accessible copying
Copying is only permitted for research or private study where it is considered to be fair dealing. UK copyright law allows students to make a single copy of an article or book chapter for private study.
What does this mean for you?
This exception means that only you can make use of the copy. Any copy that you make should not be shared with others, e.g., by making multiple copies, sending by email, or uploading copies onto Moodle or social media.
Copies must be fair to the copyright owner and therefore should not exceed:
10% of the total pages of a work or one chapter from a book, whichever is greater
one article from a journal issue.
If you want to make printed copies from an online book you may find that you are restricted in how much you can print. The limit can change for different books depending on their individual copyright restrictions.
Copying quotations or images is exempt if it meets the following criteria:
The source is acknowledged and referenced
Quotations are kept short and are for the purpose of criticism or review, or
Quotations are for other purposes, e.g. illustrative, and meet fair dealing standards, such as being relevant to the topic.
What does this mean for you?
If you use direct quotations in your work, keep these as short as possible and only use what is necessary to make your point. It is important that your quoted, summarised, and paraphrased use of the copyrighted material is fair, and that you give credit to the authors/owners of the work. You give credit by following the relevant referencing style for your programme or module.
You can use images in your work, but these must not be made public. You can reuse images in a written assignment or class presentation, but they should not be published or added to a public site such as an online blog. If you are using images in a PhD thesis that will be made available on Edinburgh Napier University’s repository, this will require permission from the copyright holder. Ensure that any images you use are crucial to your argument to meet the criteria for criticism and review. Copyrighted images need a copyright attribution as well as following the referencing requirements.
If you want to use images for visual enhancement, try to use one which does not have copyright restrictions. The University of Manchester have a useful guide on how to find free image content.
You can also use media content such as music and videos in your assignments if the use is fair. If you are using songs or videos for criticism or review, keep to the 10% principle of the total length of any material. If you are using material, such as a music clip, for enhancement, try to keep the amount you take as short as possible, e.g. a few seconds, and reference the source.
Accessible copying allows you or your educational institution to make whole copies of work in a format that is accessible to you.
If you feel this applies to you and you need published materials in specific formats e.g. print, digital, audiovisual etc, please contact the Disability Inclusion team - email disabilityandinclusion@napier.ac.uk.
Maps
Small sections of printed maps can be used in your assignments. Refer to the licence and/or terms of use before including maps from online sources such as Google Maps and Digimap.
Performances for educational purposes
Students can perform music or drama, play recorded music, or screen a film or TV broadcast, for an educational activity such as classroom activities and assignments, without infringing copyright in the UK. These performances would only be open to relevant students and staff, and if needed, to external examiners.