Copyright for researchers

If you need materials in an alternative format for accessibility reasons, there is a copyright exception that covers this. The Library Support team provide useful guidance on how to create accessible formats yourself. 

There is a copyright exception that permits you to create copies for research and private study, providing your use is 'fair'. This copy must be for your individual use only.

Text and data mining (TDM) means using computational techniques to analyse large amounts of information to identify patterns, trends and other useful information.

If you need to undertake TDM as part of your research then there is a copyright exception that covers this. UK law allows you to mine data and text providing the following two criteria are met:

1. The person carrying out the TDM has lawful access to the resource, either as an individual (e.g. with a personal subscription) or as a member of the University (e.g. subscription via the Library).
2. The TDM is undertaken for the purpose of non-commercial research.

A further criteria states that any copy made under these terms must include an acknowledgement (e.g. in the form of a citation) unless making this acknowledgement would be impractical.

• Discuss your plans with your subject librarian, who can advise on suitable approaches to take when performing TDM using the different resources provided by the Library.
• Contact the publisher of a resource to discuss the best method of obtaining the data you require.

The University provides thesis guidance which includes details of how to add your thesis to Pure, and guidance on content which cannot be published. 

Most third party materials such as books, journals or images on websites are subject to copyright. In order to include them in a publication or on a webpage, you will need to consider:

• If in copyright, get permission from the copyright holder
• If the image is a digital reproduction, get permission to reproduce the image from the person who created it, e.g. an archive
• If the image includes a trademark or trademarked logo or name, get permission from the company who own it.

If you have taken photographs at an archive, these are usually considered for 'reference' and you should contact the archive directly for a better quality version.

Clearing third party materials can take months, making it a time consuming process, so make sure you start early.

Where possible, consider using an image that is available in the public domain, or that has been created under a Creative Commons licence.