One of the less obvious changes in the copyright exceptions introduced in June is the exception in Section 41 of the CDPA 1988 which enables us to supply another library (any library which is not conducted for profit) upon request with part or the whole of a published work, without infringing copyright.  

The main condition is that the librarian does not know and could not reasonably find out the name and address of the person able to give copyright permission.

Of course this condition would rule out supplying a copy of most recently published works under this exception, as there would be little difficulty in finding out whom to contact for permission.

However journal articles are treated as a special case by Section 41 and are not subject to that condition. If we receive a request from another library for a copy of one article from a journal then we are able to supply that copy without applying that test or requesting permission from the publisher. We may choose to charge for this service or not, but if we do the amount must be calculated by reference to the costs incurred in making the copy.

When you add to this the fact that Section 41 covers copyright works in any format then it follows that we could supply a single article from an e-journal which we subscribe to. As with many of the new exceptions, this cannot be over-ridden by the terms of our licence with the supplier so we would not need to refer to the licence before providing a copy.

The Fair Dealing test has been mentioned before in this blog. The majority of the recently updated exceptions to copyright rely upon this test and so it is in the spot light, although it was already an established concept in UK Copyright law.

In contrast to the concept of “fair use” in US copyright law, which can be applied generally, “fair dealing” in UK copyright law is only relevant in the context of the statutory exceptions. It is a test of whether we are applying the exception correctly and therefore of whether we can rely upon it for protection.

The UK Intellectual Property Office say: “There is no statutory definition of fair dealing – it will always be a matter of fact, degree and impression in each case. The question to be asked is: how would a fair-minded and honest person have dealt with the work?”* Therefore it will always depend upon the context, but two key questions will generally apply:

• Could we be damaging the copyright owner’s interests by our use of their work? For example by producing something in direct competition?
• Are we using more of their work than is really necessary in the particular circumstances.

By way of example, copying an extract for the purposes of setting an examination may be fair dealing whereas reproducing the same material in a published work under the Quotation exception (which applies from 1^st October)might not be fair dealing.

*IPO (2014),Exceptions to Copyright: Guidance for creators and copyright owners

The examination exception is part of the exception for purposes of “illustration for instruction” (CDPA 1988 Section 32). The new Section 32 is very good news but in relation to examinations it is more restrictive. The old exception permitting copying for setting or completing an examination was unrestricted. Now the fair dealing test applies to the whole section including copying for examinations. What does this mean?  In the examination context it is unlikely that we would be damaging the economic interests of the rights owner. The main thing to bear in mind is that in setting examinations we should not include more of the work than is strictly necessary and it should be acknowledged where possible. A positive aspect is that the exception now covers all media, such as an extract of recorded music or of a film.  

The examination exception covers 3^rd party material included in a PhD thesis. The student should be aware that in including 3^rd party material they need to apply the fair dealing test, key questions being:

• Am I using more of the work than is really necessary for the purpose?
• Could I be damaging the interests of the copyright owner by reproducing their work in this way?

Remember that the examination exception does not cover subsequent publication of your thesis in UCL Discovery or reusing the same content in a journal article. You will need to consider applying for permission or publishing a redacted version