A range of exceptions to copyright law may be relevant to your research. 

Common exceptions used by researchers include:

• Non-commercial research & private study
• Text and data mining for non-commercial research
• Criticism, review and reporting
• Parody, caricature and pastiche

Further information about all of these exceptions is available at Exceptions to copyright - GOV.UK.

Some general principles apply to most exceptions, including;

• 'Fair dealing' - using only the amount that is needed for your purpose
• Avoiding financial impact on the copyright owner
• Sufficient acknowledgement - ensuring that the owner and original source are credited

If your research is commercial, or you are using exceptions for non-commercial research and plan to publish your work (including making outputs available open access online) you will need to seek permission from the rights holder, unless the material you are using is covered by a licence that permits publication and/or commercial use.

Creative Commons Licenses indicate how you can use the material without needing to contact the owner. You will often be expected to apply creative commons licences to your own research outputs to make them open access and meet the requirements of research funding agencies.

Detailed information about Creative Commons is available at Creative Commons.

Look out for:

• Licences including NC - this means 'Non-Commercial'. If you want to use the item in commercial research you will need to request permission
• Licences including ND - the means 'Non-Derivative'. If you would like to adapt the material for use in your research you will need to request permission
• Licences including SA - this means 'Share-Alike'. If you use the material in your research you will need to apply the same kind of licence to any output

For advice on specific re-use of copyright materials, contact the UWS Library Copyright Advisory Service at Copyright@uws.ac.uk

Information provided by the copyright advisory service does not constitute legal advice. If you require legal support for complex copyright queries contact legal@uws.ac.uk.