Copyright and Research

The portions of CAL that most apply to researchers are the fair dealing provisions.

The fair dealing provisions in the Act are an exception to the exclusive rights of copyright owners. They allow some copying and/or communication for certain purposes to be done for free without infringing copyright.

In brief, fair dealing applies to:

• research or study: section 40(1) of the Act provides that copyright in a work or an adaptation of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work is not infringed by a fair dealing for the purpose of research or study. Similarly, under section 103C(1) copyright in an audio-visual item, or in a work included in an audio-visual item, is not infringed by a fair dealing made for the purpose of research or study;
• criticism and review: section 41 of the Act provides that copyright in a work or an adaptation of a literary, dramatic or musical work, is not infringed by a fair dealing for the purpose of 'criticism or review', whether of that work or of another work, provided sufficient acknowledgement of the work is made. Any acknowledgement should identify the author and identify the work/audio-visual item from which the copies are taken by its title or other description. This category will rarely apply to multiple copying for distribution to students. However, it may apply to copying you do for yourself or for other staff. It may also apply to communications between academics for the purpose of academic criticism and discussion.