Guidance for Researchers: Copyright
Image credits: Getty
This section introduces copyright basics, applications to research and exceptions. More detailed guidance on copyright in general can be found in the Copyright Library Guide.
Copyright Basics
Copyright belongs to the same Intellectual property (IP) family as trademarks, patents, and designs. It is set out in the Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988 and other Acts of Parliament and Statutory Instruments and available on legislation.gov.uk. It only applies to works which are original and is recorded in some way (written down, painted, composed etc).
Copyright protects your work and stops others from using it without your permission.
You automatically get copyright protection when you create:
- original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic work, including illustration and photography
- original non-literary written work, such as software, web content and databases
- sound and music recordings
- film and television recordings
- broadcasts
- the layout of published editions of written, dramatic and musical works
Duration is generally for the life of the creator(s) plus 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the last creator dies.
Ownership of Copyright
Copyright is normally held by the author or creator. If you own the copyright in a work, you have exclusive rights over certain uses of that work. These rights fall into two categories: economic rights and moral rights. Economic rights allow exploitation of works such as licensing or selling the rights to others.
Depending on circumstances and contracts, copyright ownership may either be a straightforward or a more complex arrangement. For example, a PhD student generally will own copyright in their dissertations. In some cases, this may not be the case if a confidentiality agreement has been signed.
Further Information about Copyright Issues
Library and Learning Resources co-ordinate copyright training and compliance for the University.
For copyright help and support contact: Tom Rowley or Nikki Griffin.
Consult the Library Guidance on Copyright and Licencing.
Creative Commons (CC) has this useful tool to guide the authors to choose a suitable CC licence.
Licences for Open Data, see Licenses — Open Data Commons: legal tools for open data.
Exceptions to Copyright for Researchers
The intellectual Property office have published the Exceptions to copyright: Research (PDF) guide.
This leaflet is particularly relevant to those who need to use copyright works as part of their non-commercial research or private study. This is relevant to researchers who wish to copy copyright works as part of their research.
Consult the Open Government Licence page for more information.
- CopyrightUser.OrgOffers clear explanations of exceptions to copyright law written in plain language by experts
- Fair UseFair use exception explained by the British Library, IP & Business Centre
Reclaiming Fair Use by ISBN: 9780226374192Publication Date: 2018-04-27Analyzing the dampening effect that copyright law can have on scholarship and creativity, Patricia Aufderheide and Peter Jaszi urge us to embrace in response a principle embedded in copyright law itself--fair use.
Referencing & Plagiarism
The Centre for Academic Success provides guidance on referencing and avoiding plagiarism.
You can find a guide to referencing guide at BCU on the Library web pages.
EndNote Web, the referencing management system, is available for you to use for your research while at BCU. IT staff offer 'Getting to Know EndNote Web' workshops to help you set up and use EndNote Web effectively. There is often a workshop on Endnote as part of the library's workshops for researchers.