Print, copy and understand copyright

For private study or non-commercial research, section 29 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 allows you to photocopy or scan a "fair" amount from works protected by copyright.

The law does not specify how much of any work you may copy, but instead asks you to consider what a fair-minded and honest person would do.

To help you decide if you are being fair, you could ask yourself:

• Have you used someone’s work in a way that stops them from selling the work, or from making use of it in the way they want to?

• Have you used more of their work than you need to for your purpose?

You can look at the limitations listed in the ‘How much am I permitted to copy?’ section of our Copyright: Scanning or Copying for Wider Use guidance. Although you are only making a copy for yourself, these limits may give you an idea of how much of a source could be viewed as “fair” to photocopy or scan.

If you are delivering a class presentation or preparing coursework you may use any image to illustrate a point that you are making

If you wish to use an image which does not illustrate a point you can use

• an image that is free to use
• an image that you get explicit permission to use for this purpose.

You should always include an acknowledgement of the source of the image.

Different rules apply to work that is published. Learn more in the Moodle course, Copyright for Publication.

There are sites on the internet containing images that can be reused. You may use these images under the terms and conditions set by their rightsowners. (Sometimes these sites will use Creative Commons licences to explain these terms.)

Examples of these sites include:

• Pixabay (a small number of these images require payment)
• Pexels
• Unsplash

You should always include an acknowledgement of the source of the image. 

Remember:

• Only use images from websites if you are confident that the person who uploaded the image is the person who created or owns the copyright in the image.
• Sites like Wikimedia Commons and Flickr often contain material that has been illegally copied.
• Some non-UK websites may give copyright advice which does not apply in the UK.

The sites below contain images which may be used for educational purposes within Oxford Brookes University. They should not be used for publications, newsletters or public webpages.

• Bridgeman Education - art, culture and historical images
• British Cartoon Archive - particularly strong for politics and news coverage.
• JSTOR Images - art images useful for a wide range of subjects  

You should always include an acknowledgement of the source of the image.

If you want to use films or videos in coursework or presentations, remember:

• You may incorporate video content into coursework and instruction within the context of a specific module.
• Video content should be used only to illustrate specific points, and not for purposes of entertainment. (Free showings of films may be permissible under the University's MPLC licence. 
• Video content should be shown only to Oxford Brookes students and staff and exclusively within physical and virtual environments accessible only to Oxford Brookes students and staff
• You should always acknowledge the source and copyright holders of any video content you use.

Brookes Union provide further information about holding compliant film screenings.

All Oxford Brookes students and staff have access to Box of Broadcasts and can borrow DVDs from the library.