Copyright Week 8

Getting Permission to Use Copyright Material


You need permission for use of anyone else's work, except:

• If you are using an insubstantial part (note is quality rather than quantity), 

• If the copyright has expired, 

• If it is for research, education or public administration, 

• If you have a copyright licence with with a copyright collective.

To obtain permission the cover letter must include:

• Date.
• Name and contact of copyright owner.
• Description of yourself and why you wan to use their work.
• Detailed information about the work
• Precise description of how you will use the work
• request conformation of addressee is the sole copyright owner or ask for information on any other owner.
• Ask preference how to credit their work
• Ask response by a certain date
• your contact details

Infringement of copyright

Copyright infringement occurs when all or a substantial part of copyright in ways that only copyright holder can use

If someone has infringed your copyright you should get legal advice. if your copyright is being administered by a collecting society notify organisation of incident.


decide what you want done..

• Stop infringement?
• Depose of infringing material?
• Be paid of use of work or given profits of work?

Contact the infringer

first informally as infringement may be done unintentionally and resolve between you privatly.

if this attempt is unsuccessful, send a formal letter of demand which should include.

• A statement you are the copyright owner
• how you believe that the person has infringed your copyright
• Statment of what you require
• Timeframe in which the demand must be met
• Statement that furthur action may be taken if demand is not met within stated time frame

Best to get legal advice before sending letter of demand.

Moral Rights

Personal rights, separate from copyright rights or economic rights. Moral rights remain with the creator even when the copyright is owened by someone else.

Moral rights give creators:

• Right to be identified as author of work, or director in the case of film
• The right not to have a work falsely attributed to them
• The right to object to derogatory treatment of the work

Creators of sound recordings and computer-related works have no moral rights.