Copyright: Home

Copyright is a property right intended to protect the rights of those who create works of various kinds. The basis of UK copyright law is the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

The Act states that copyright is a property right and can lie in the following types of work:

• Original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works
• Sound recordings, films, broadcasts or cable programmes
• The typographical arrangement of published editions

The owner of the copyright in a work has the exclusive right to:

• Copy the work
• Issue copies of the work to the public
• Perform, show or play the work in public
• Broadcast the work or include it in a cable programme service
• Make an adaptation of the work or do any of the above in relation to an adaptation

The author, director or commissioner of the work, whether or not that person is the copyright owner, has the following rights:

• To be identified as author or director
• To object to derogatory treatment of the work
• The right to privacy of certain photographs and films

If you have any questions about our copyright licenses please contact Colin Theakston, the University's Copyright Officer.

Durham University Library can provide guidance to members of the university on matters of Copyright and the copying of material for research, teaching and learning at the university.

In general, you CAN copy material IF: 

• the material is 'out of copyright' (see the box below on copyright duration)
• you are the copyright owner
• you have a visual impairment
• you have the permission of the copyright owner
• you are copying within the accepted limits of 'fair dealing' for:
  • non-commercial research
  • non-commercial private study
  • criticism or review
  • reporting of current events
• the University holds a licence for the type of copying you want to carry out. 

If in doubt - DON'T copy - seek advice. 

Copyright can be a complex subject so these pages are only intended to give simple advice on the topic. Please note that they are for guidance only and relate in the main to copying carried out by members of the University (staff and students). It is not intended that these (or linked pages) should provide definitive legal opinion on copyright.