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Copyright and fair use

The information below provides some guidance about photocopying and issues related to storing and sharing electronic documents. It's intended for information and guidance only and is not a statement of Monaco copyright law.

COPYING FOR PRIVATE STUDY OR RESEARCH

If you make copies of any material, whether electronic or paper based, you need to keep in mind the concept of "fair use". Copyright law allows for some flexibility, within reason, and depends on the interpretation of four factors:

  1. The purpose for which the copy is made.
  2. The nature of the work that is copyrighted.
  3. The portion of the work that is copied.
  4. The effect on the market for the original work.

For further guidance on how these four factors may be interpreted, please consult the book by Crews (2006).

As a general guide, basic permission to photocopy for private study or research, extends to the copying of:

  • One complete chapter from a book.
  • One whole article from a single issue of a magazine.
  • No more than 5% of a given work, whichever is greater.

COPYRIGHT ISSUES FOR ELECTRONIC INFORMATION

Information that's published electronically is protected by copyright in the same way as printed works. Copyright protection means that you may only use the electronic work (including documents in HTML or PDF formats, computer programs, graphs or files of data) within the scope of the authorisation imposed by the copyright owner of the electronic work.

RESTRICTIONS ON THE USE OF ELECTRONIC WORKS

The copyright owner of an electronic work will normally allow you to acquire and retain a single copy for personal use only. The following kinds of use are normally explicitly prohibited (at least without obtaining permission from the owner):

  • Copying or reproduction.
  • Distribution.
  • Republishing.
  • Selling.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

Information technology makes it very easy to copy, distribute, or even sell, electronic information. However, this may be illegal under the terms of the copyright agreement. Examples of practice that would be unlawful are:

  • Downloading an HTML or PDF document, and making multiple photocopies.
  • Downloading a PDF document and sending it as an email attachment to one or more individuals.
  • Placing a document on a network for others to access.

REFERENCE

Crews, K. D. (2006) Copyright law for librarians and educators: creative strategies and practical solutions. 2nd ed. Chicago: American Library Association.