Fair dealing Definition

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GLOSSARY

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What does Fair dealing mean?

The limited acts which the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 permits in relation to copyright works that do not require any permission from their owner or licensee, including research or private study for non-commercial purposes, criticism or review and reporting current events.

Fairness is judged objectively. The question is whether a fair-minded and honest person would have dealt with the copyright work in the manner in which the defendant did. The burden of proof of fairness lies with the defendant. To fall under 'fair dealing', each use of the work must bear a 'sufficient acknowledgement' identifying the original work’s author and title, must usually already have been published, must not compete with the commercial exploitation of the work, and must not make use of an excessive amount of the original (regular use of smaller extracts may fall outside the defence).

View the related checklists about Fair dealing

Ownership and issues regarding copyright works created at home—checklist

Ownership and issues regarding copyright works created at home—checklist Employees and contractors are increasingly working more from home. This has resulted in an increase in content being created at home and posted or shared online, for example by teachers to share with their pupils via video communications. When content is created at home in these circumstances, the ownership of IP rights, use of third-party material and infringement of third-party rights should be considered. For further information on issues raised by this Checklist, see Practice Notes: • Copyright—protectable works • Copyright—authorship and ownership • Copyright & associated rights—overview • Copyright infringement • Copyright—secondary infringement • Copyright infringement—remedies • Copyright—permitted acts and defences • Joint ownership of intellectual property rights The third column can be used to record observations or comments as the Checklist is worked through. Checklist Further information Notes (if any) Copyright origination ☐ Identify the copyright work. Copyright is an unregistered right—it comes into being automatically on the creation of a qualifying work.The main categories of ‘work’ are:—literary,...

The EU Data Act—checklist

The EU Data Act—checklist This checklist outlines the key requirements of Regulation (EU) 2023/2854, the EU Data Act, that businesses need to comply with, such as data access and portability, smart contracts, prohibition on unfair contractual terms, right to switch services (operability), open interoperability, as well as the rules on international data transfers. The EU Data Act aims to encourage business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumers (B2C) sharing of data generated by Internet of Things (IoT) devices to facilitate a fair use of data and realise the full potential of EU’s data economy. It is the second main legislative initiative resulting from the European strategy for data, after the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2022/868, the EU Data Governance Act. While the EU Data Governance Act creates the processes and structures to facilitate data sharing by companies, individuals and the public sector, the EU Data Act clarifies who can create value from data and under which conditions. The EU Data Act entered into force on 11 January 2024 and starts to apply on...

Copyright—permitted acts and defences

There are a number of specific exceptions to copyright infringement, the majority of which are laid down by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988). These are known as permitted acts. The permitted acts which apply to copyright are numerous with many also applying to protected rights in databases. If other causes of action apply such as a claim for breach of confidence then the permitted act exception will not extend to the breach of confidence claim. Permitted acts can be relied on for criminal offences as well as in civil proceedings.The aim of having permitted acts is to allow, if certain conditions are met, public interest to overrule the private interests of the copyright owner. The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (the Berne Convention) is an international agreement that provides for copyright exceptions to the reproduction right in certain special cases. Article 9 of the Berne Convention provides the so called Berne three-step test:‘It shall be a matter for legislation in the...

Copyright in film and television—making a new film

Copyright in film and television—making a new film This Practice Note considers film and television copyright issues relating to the underlying works encountered during the making of a film. It covers literary works such as scripts, biographies, characters, set design and location, photographs, the right to privacy of certain photographs or films, music, and performances. This Practice Note also covers copyright permitted acts or exceptions that may apply when various works are included in a film—including fair dealing exceptions, incidental inclusion, reporting court proceedings, filming in a public place, and public interest. When making a new film or television programme, a number of individual different copyright works will comprise the film depending on the type of production being made, eg a drama or a factual documentary. This Practice Note looks at some of the common underlying works incorporated into film and television productions. Some of these works will not automatically belong to the production company making the film so it is essential to take either an assignment or...

Discover our 76 Practice Notes on Fair dealing

Letter to directors in an insolvency situation warning of main legal risks

Letter to directors in an insolvency situation warning of main legal risks You recently came to see us/contacted us as a director of a company in financial difficulties. The purpose of this letter is to bring to your attention some issues that you should be aware of in your capacity as a director of the company and/or in your personal capacity as a director. If a company is solvent and has no financial concerns then, broadly speaking, the company and its directors owe fairly limited duties to creditors. The duties to shareholders takes precedence. However, when a company is insolvent, or is in the ‘twilight zone’, then the directors’ duties shift from being primarily owed to shareholders to creditors. You must be aware of this and act accordingly. Taking the above into consideration, if you are a director of a company in financial difficulties you will need to make difficult decisions regarding the management of the company and, in particular, the treatment of its creditors. You may also...

Defence (database right infringement)

Defence (database right infringement) Case No. [insert number] IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE BUSINESS AND PROPERTY COURTS OF ENGLAND & WALES INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LIST (ChD) [INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ENTERPRISE COURT] BETWEEN: [insert full name of claimant] Claimant and [insert full name of defendant] Defendant ________________________________________ DEFENCE ________________________________________ 1 In this Defence, unless otherwise indicated: 1.1 paragraph numbers refer to paragraphs of the Particulars of Claim; 1.2 defined terms have the same meanings as those specified in the Particulars of Claim, without admission; and 1.3 the Defendant denies all allegations made in the Particulars of Claim, save as admitted or not admitted below. The Defendant requires to be proved any matter not addressed specifically in this Defence. 2 All documents referred to in this Defence will be referred to at trial for their full terms, meaning and effect. The Claimant and Claimant’s Database 3 Paragraph 1 is admitted. 4 Paragraph 2 is denied. It is denied that the [works, data or other materials] are arranged in a systematic...

Dive into our 2 Precedents related to Fair dealing

How do I deal with database extraction and re-utilisation?

How do I deal with database extraction and re-utilisation? Protection of investment A database right in a database is infringed if an alleged infringer extracts or re-utilises all or a substantial part of its contents or where systematic extraction or re-utilisation of insubstantial part of the contents of the database amounts to the extraction or re-utilisation of a substantial part of those contents. The right to prevent extraction and re-utilisation stems from the database right that protects the investment of the maker of the database in the arrangement and verification of it. This protection of investment is the main point for the client to understand. The protection is not given to the investment in the creation of information but on investment made in the generation of a database as a storage and processing tool for information. 'Substantial investment' is an investment that is considerable in, for example, financial, human or technical resources in a qualitative (intellectual effort or energy) or quantitative sense, or both (see the ...

In writing a memoir, person A has written to the original author of a letter to ask permission to include a quote or quotes from that letter, but the author has failed to respond to the request for permission. In those circumstances when would including quotes from personal letters in a memoir constitute fair quotation?

In writing a memoir, person A has written to the original author of a letter to ask permission to include a quote or quotes from that letter, but the author has failed to respond to the request for permission. In those circumstances when would including quotes from personal letters in a memoir constitute fair quotation? A copyright owner is not required by law to give permission for the use of a work, if contacted by a prospective licensee. Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988) gives the copyright owner exclusive rights in the UK to carry out various acts in relation to the copyright work. Activities set out in CDPA 1988 carried out by those other than the copyright owner, without permission, may infringe the owner's exclusive rights and constitute copyright infringement. For further detail, see: Copyright disputes—overview and Practice Note: Copyright infringement. However, there are a number of specific exceptions (also called permitted acts) to copyright infringement. In October 2014, a new right of quotation...

See the 22 Q&As about Fair dealing

IP weekly highlights—28 November 2024

This week's edition of IP weekly highlights includes: a hand-picked summary of news analysis, updates and new content from the world of IP. These highlights focus on the key rights of copyright and associated rights, database rights, trade marks and passing off, designs, and patents as well as covering issues relating to confidential information, know-how R&D and IP disputes all mainly from a UK and European perspective.

TMT weekly highlights—28 November 2024

Welcome to this week’s edition of the TMT weekly highlights: a hand-picked summary of news analysis, updates and new content from across the technology, media and telecoms sectors. These highlights focus on key topics including new technologies, software, cloud computing, internet, outsourcing, music, film & television, publishing, defamation and telecoms.

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