Copyright and images

An introduction to copyright

When you are searching for images, it’s important to understand copyright. The module ‘Using images effectively and ethically’ explains the impact of copyright on your work and offers guidance on referencing images.

Copyright protects ideas when they are physically expressed, for example as a book, film, painting, music, computer game, or advertisement. It belongs to the creator, commissioner or employer and lasts for their lifetime plus seventy years or in the case of anonymous works, for seventy years from publication. The copyright holder has copying, sharing, lending and performance rights.

As a student or staff member, you can copy a work if:

• There is a legal exception
• It is publicly available
• You have permission, or
• You have a licence

One exception is ‘fair dealing’ and educational use, which allows you to copy or use a limited amount of copyrighted work. It should be:

• For non-commercial and private study
• For criticism or review
• For parody, caricature or pastiche (not derogatory with clear differences to the original)

You should always reference any images you use in your work. Below is a video introducing the topic of referencing images using the Harvard referencing style: