Copyright

All staff and students at the University of Lincoln need to be aware of copyright law and how it impacts their teaching, learning and research.  The Library provides guidance to students and academic staff on what can be copied for educational purposes. 

What is copyright?

Copyright legally protects the original work of authors and creators. In the UK this is governed by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988  and exists to prevent the work being unlawfully copied or reproduced. 

Copyright restricts or limits what can be copied or reused. As a Higher Education Institution we hold a licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA)  which allows us to photocopy and scan from books and journals for teaching purposes.

What is protected by copyright?

The Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) recognises the main categories of works protected in the UK as:

• original literary works (e.g. novels, poems, tables, lists, web pages and computer programs);
• original dramatic work (e.g. plays, dance, mime);
• original musical work, including notes and composition;
• original artistic work, including paintings, drawings, photographs and sculptures;
• sound recordings;
• films;
• broadcasts.

When photocopying, printing and scanning, it is essential you keep within the law and the terms of the University’s licensing agreement. Use the CLA's Check Permissions search tool to see whether what you would like to copy is included in the Higher Education licence.

Contacts

Contact your Academic Subject Librarian for advice on copyright.

Copyright links