You are here: Home: Community and living: Libraries: Library services and facilities: Services

Services

Photocopying and copyright

Copying for non-commercial purposes

The law of copyright protects authors and publishers (the copyright owners) against theft or abuse of their intellectual property. Unless copying is being carried out for research or private study (non-commercial use), it is unlawful. As a general guide you are not allowed to make more than a single copy that should be of no more than a “reasonable” proportion of the whole work.

Guidelines

• Books/ Pamphlets/ Reports: No more than 5% of the whole work
• Periodicals/ Magazines: Maximum of one article from any one issue
• Ordnance Survey Maps: Four copies of one extract, not exceeding A4 size

No copies are allowed for planning applications. Copies for planning purposes should be obtained from the Planning Section, Northgate House, Halifax.

Copying for commercial purposes

The EU Copyright Directive was implemented into UK law with effect from 31^st October 2003. The most important change as far as Library users are concerned, is that any copying, even for research or private study, is no longer allowed under the “fair dealing” or “library privilege” exceptions if it is for a commercial purpose.

Copying now carried out for commercial purposes requires prior permission from the copyright owner or payment of a copyright fee.

The Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) Sticker Scheme| provides a simple way in which you can pay a copyright fee and lawfully copy an extract from a book, magazine or journal for commercial purposes.

How does the sticker scheme work?

1. If you are making a photocopy for a commercial purpose ask a member of the library’s staff for a Copyright Fee Paid Sticker for each copy you wish to make. The Sticker costs £9 (including VAT).
2. Complete the Sticker Form, filling in the details of what you have copied, this enables the CLA to distribute the licence fee to the appropriate authors, artists, or publishers whose work you have copied.
3. Keep the top copy for yourself and hand the other copies back to the member of staff.
4. Affix the Sticker securely to your copy. This endorses it as lawfully made copy.
5. If you wish to reclaim VAT, you will need to fill in the customer details section. The top copy of the Sticker Form can then be used as a VAT receipt.

All information provided is treated by CLA in the strictest confidence and in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998.

How much can be copied?

A Sticker permits the making of one copy within licence limits:

• One chapter of a book
• One entire case from a published law report
• Up to 5% of the publication, if greater than above
• One article from a journal/ magazine/ periodical
• One poem in an anthology.

Making additional copies

If you wish to make further copies of your Sticker Copy, your organization / company needs to hold an appropriate CLA Blanket Licence or have prior written permission from the copyright owner.

To help you decide whether your copying is for a commercial purpose the Copyright Licensing Agency and the British Library have jointly prepared some FAQ's: Copyright Licensing Agency| .

back to top