This is a complex area and LALG cannot provide further advice to individual groups.
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You can’t copy or use copyright material without permission. Copyright owners have ways to track if their material is being used. For example, if you use a copyright image in a document, advert or slideshow it may be identified and you will be charged for its use. You should not photocopy music or text for use in your group unless you are covered by one of the exemptions (see below).
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To use something protected by copyright you must either:
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agree a licence with the owner to use it
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buy or acquire the copyright
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confirm that your intended use falls within the exceptions to copyright, which you can find by following this link.
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Copyright protects work and stops others from using it without permission. You get copyright protection automatically - you don’t have to apply or pay a fee. There isn’t a register of copyright works in the UK. For more information.
- Copyright prevents people from:
- copying work
- distributing copies of it, whether free of charge or for sale
- renting or lending copies
- performing, showing or playing in public
- making an adaptation
- putting it on the internet
- You automatically get copyright protection when you create:
- original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic work, including illustration and photography
- original non-literary written work, such as software, web content and databases
- sound and music recordings
- film and television recordings
- broadcasts
- the layout of published editions of written, dramatic and musical works
You can mark work with the copyright symbol (©), name and the year of creation. Whether the work is marked or not doesn’t affect the level of protection.
