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Fair dealing

The fair dealing provisions of the Act are an exception to the exclusive rights of copyright owners. They allow copying and communication for certain purposes to be done for free without infringing copyright.

Fair dealing for the purposes of criticism or review

A fair dealing with a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, or an audio visual item or with an adaptation of a literary, dramatic or musical work, does not infringe copyright in the work if it is for the purpose of criticism or review, whether of that work or another work, provided there is sufficient acknowledgement of the work copied. Any acknowledgement should identify the author (unless the author is anonymous or has agreed or directed that they not be named) and identify the work from which the copies are taken by its title or other description.

An example of how this provision might be relied on by a student is where the student is copying parts of a text to criticise the text in an assignment or thesis.

An example of how this provision might be relied on by a university lecturer is where an audiovisual item such as a film or sound recording is copied to be played at an academic conference for the purpose of commenting critically on the material. Without the protection of the fair dealing provision both the copying and the 'causing to be seen or heard in public' might - assuming a 'substantial amount' was used - amount to an infringement of copyright.

In order to obtain the protection of this section, the purpose of the dealing must be criticism or review. The criticism or review must be directly related to the material being copied. If the court considers that the real purpose of the dealing was to capitalise on publishing another creator's material, the protection will be lost.

This category of fair dealing does not apply to multiple copying. But it may apply to copying you do for yourself or for others. It may also apply to communications between academics or students for the purpose of academic criticism and discussion.