Infringement of copyright occurs when a restricted act is carried out without the permission of the copyright owner; e.g. taking a copy of a work without permission.
Infringement is generally a civil offence and a common penalty is the award of damages and the destruction of any infringing materials. However in cases where someone is dealing in infringing copies (selling pirate materials) this is known as secondary infringement and can be a criminal offence punishable by a prison sentence. Where an act constitutes a criminal offence action can be taken by Trading Standards and other enforcement agencies as well as by the copyright owner.
The value of copyright
The framework of intellectual property legislation generally and copyright in particular as it forms a bridge between the creators and owners of copyright works, such as published content from books and magazines, and the consumer that wants to use the work.
Copyright is important because it protects the interests of the creators and those who invest in creativity. If there were no legal copyright protection, it would be difficult for creative people to make a living from their work. It would be less likely that anyone would be willing to fund the publishing of a book, the making of a film or the recording of music if there were less opportunity to earn a return and there were no protection from copying by others.
The easier it becomes to access creative works the more vital it is that we respect copyright law so that people continue to produce the creative works which add value to our lives.
By supporting copyright owners, CLA (Copyright Licensing Agency) plays a part in maintaining the value of their work, thereby sustaining creativity and its benefit to all. Through protection of this sort the creative industries in the UK have been able to grow to support millions of jobs.
Obtaining copyright clearance and reducing the risk of infringement
Copyright law states that photocopying, scanning or digital re-use of an electronic publication is reproduction of copyright protected material and permission must be sought in advance to avoid infringing the copyright owners rights.
The Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) is the UK organisation set up by authors and publishers to issue licences granting rights to copy extracts from books, journals, magazines and press cuttings as well as digital or electronic publications.
Licences are granted on behalf of the authors, publishers and visual creators who own the copyright. The law states that anyone wishing to copy from copyright publications requires permission from the copyright owner in advance. The easiest way to obtain permission is to buy a CLA licence.
CLA licences provide ‘blanket’ permission to enable organisations to copy from all magazines, books and journals published in the UK and over 26 international territories in return for one annual fee.
The CLA licences are available to businesses, charities, central and local government and educational establishments in the UK.
Typical activities for which an organisation would require permission include:
- Photocopying an article from a magazine, book or journal
- Copying or downloading an article from a digital publication
- Photocopying or scanning an article or clipping received from a press agency
- Making multiple copies of an article obtained from a document library
- Storing an article on a company intranet
If any of the above are applicable to your organisation then it is highly likely that you will need a CLA licence.
If you are not sure what level of copying is carried out in your organisation then it is strongly recommended that you carry out a simple check to make sure that your organisation is not breaking the law.
