Copies for commercial research

English law draws a distinction between copying for non-commercial research purposes and copying for commercial research purposes. Any copying for commercial research purposes has been removed from the so called "exceptions to copyright". If you require a copy for research for commercial purposes, you must pay a copyright royalty as well as pay the cost of making a copy. You may find the Copyright FAQ provided by British Library helpful when making this decision.

The licence which the University has from the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) covers all copying by staff and students of the University of Bristol on University premises only. You must check that you are copying from works covered by the licence and that you comply with the limits imposed by the licence, when you are using copying machines anywhere in the University. When you are away from the University of Bristol, you must check what the arrangements are for copying in the institution which you are visiting. Further details may be found in the Office of the University Secretary Photocopying Guidelines. Details about the participating UK and US publishers can be found on the Copyright Licensing Agency website.

If you require copies of items not held by the University of Bristol Information Services in any branch library, or electronically, you must decide if the item is needed in connection with non-commercial research or commercial research.

• For non-commercial research: you may use the inter-library loans service to request a copy. For more information about inter-library loans, please see the Inter-Library Loans page of the library lending section.
• For commercial research: you may be able to order a copy directly from the Zetoc service offered by the British Library. For further information, please see Zetoc website. You will be charged a copyright fee and the cost of making and sending the copy. You will need a credit card to make an order. Alternatively, you may ask the Inter-Library Loans staff to obtain a copy for you, by placing an enquiry via the Copy for commercial research request form. Inter-Library Loans staff will check the details of your request and send you an estimate of the cost of obtaining the copy for you. No copy will be obtained unless you agree to the amount quoted, which will include a £2-00 administration charge.

If you have any further questions, please contact Pete Barrett. You may also send emails to the Inter-Library Loans office at bris-ill@bristol.ac.uk.