You must follow third-party copyright law if you want to include work by someone else in your research. This includes text, images, tables, charts, recordings and other formats.
On this page:
- Definition of third-party copyright
- Getting permission to reuse material
- What to do if you get permission
- Using work for teaching
- Using work for criticism or review
- What counts as fair dealing
- How much material you can use
- Reusing your own published work
- Further help and support
Definition of third-party copyright
Third-party copyright means that someone else owns the rights to the material you want to use. This could be:
- an individual
- a publisher
- an organisation
You usually need to get permission to reuse this material. However, there are exceptions, such as using work for:
- private study
- teaching
- criticism or review
If you’re unsure whether you need permission, speak to your department librarian or contact the open access team.
Getting permission to reuse material
You must identify and contact the rights holder to ask permission before using their material, unless:
- the material is out of copyright
- an exception under copyright law applies
- the rights holder has publicly granted reuse permission, for example by using a Creative Commons licence
You should be aware that the author may be not the rights holder; copyright is often transferred to a publisher.
The University’s copyright guidance provides more information on requesting permission.
What to do if you get permission
If you receive permission to reuse material, you must:
- include a clear credit in your work, such as “Permission to reproduce this [content] has been granted by [rights holder]”
- if the third party copyright material needs to be available under a different licence to your work, you need to make this clear in the credit line, for example “Permission to reproduce this [content] has been granted by [rights holder]. All rights reserved"
- keep a copy of the letter or email granting permission
- be ready to provide proof of permission if asked later
Using work for teaching or private research
You may not need permission if you are:
- making a single copy for private study
- text and data mining
- making an accessible copy for someone with a disability
Find out more about 'fair dealing for teaching' and the 'fair dealing for private study or non-commercial research' exceptions.
These exceptions do not apply to third-party material you want to include in your published thesis. You must always get permission for this.
Using work for criticism or review
You may use third-party material without permission if:
- your use is for criticism or review
- the work has been made publicly available
- your use counts as ‘fair dealing’
You must also:
- include a full and accurate acknowledgement
- make sure your commentary relates directly to the material
- avoid using the material for decoration or general illustration
This exception may be applicable to theses. You can find out more about the 'fair dealing for criticism or review, quotation, news reporting'.
You cannot adapt or change third-party material without permission. Authors have moral rights over how their work is used.
What counts as fair dealing
There is no set legal amount of material you can use in your work. What counts as fair depends on context. Your use must be:
- selective and limited
- directly linked to the point you are making
- not harmful to the market for the original work
You must:
- provide clear acknowledgement
- use the material as part of a critical or analytical discussion
- avoid relying on the material in a way that could replace the original
If your work would still make sense without the quoted content, it may not count as criticism or review.
Fair dealing doesn't apply, or is more difficult to argue that it does apply, to certain types of content. For example:
- figures, illustrations, charts, tables and maps
- photographs
- images of artwork/illustrations from museums or art galleries
- epigraphs, poems, song lyrics, music (including sheet and sound recordings), film/TV stills, video clips, audio clips, cartoons, software, advertisements and publicity material
- information found on the internet (unless it has an open licence)
- unpublished material
- long quotations
You should seek permission to reuse this type of material.
How much material you can use
There is no legal limit on the amount of material you can use, and reasonableness is context dependent. In academic publishing, the following is often considered reasonable:
- one short extract of up to 400 words, from a book
- several shorter extracts (none longer than 300 words) totalling up to 800 words, from a book
- one short extract of up to 100 words, from a shorter piece, such an article or magazine
Many publishers require written permission to reuse more substantial content. Examples include:
- Ecology: permission needed for extracts over 250 words
- Wiley: fair dealing applies only to short, justified extracts
- Elsevier: written permission is usually required
- SAGE: fair dealing must meet specific purposes, including criticism or review
Always check the terms set by the publisher.
Reusing your own published work
If you want to reuse work you have already published, you must:
- check your publishing agreement
- confirm whether you still hold the rights to reuse your content
- contact the publisher if the agreement is unclear
You may have signed over copyright when your work was accepted. If so, you must ask the publisher for permission to reuse it.
Reusing unpublished works
You need the permission of the copyright holder if you want to reuse material from an unpublished work. Unpublished works will usually be in copyright until 2039. There are no fair use exceptions.
Further help and support
If you have questions or need advice on third-party copyright, please contact the open access team.