| Am I allowed to reproduce someone else’s work as long as I’m not trying to make money from it? |
Unfortunately not. It is a common myth that if one does not intend to make a commercial profit then reusing copyrighted material is allowed. However permission to reuse other’s copyrighted materials is required regardless of whether your intended use is commercial or not. Even if you’re not making money, you’re still technically infringing if you use the work without permission - unless it falls under a legal exception. You can find more information on the exceptions on our exceptions and fair use page. Often things that are free to access online are nevertheless monetised through traffic and sharing material in a way that discourages people seeking it from the original creator may be depriving the creator of income. |
| This all seems complicated and hard work, are you sure this is all necessary? If I find something on the internet I can copy and paste it with two clicks, the rights owner will never know, surely everyone does it? |
At the end of the day copyright is often a case of risk management. If you really want to slap a picture of Mickey Mouse on something which you think will never have a wide audience you probably won't get found out and your organization probably wont get sued by Disney. The thing is they might, and it is unethical to use someone else’s stuff without their permission. Technology for spotting the use of copyrighted material is sophisticated and in widespread use. If caught misusing other people's material it can be very expensive, embarrassing, damaging to the reputation of the organisation and can lead to a loss of trust. It has happened before. It is everyone's responsibility to try and make sure it doesn’t happen too often. NHS Scotland, like other organisations, relies on its staff to follow best practice. It is not an academic publisher with a dedicated rights clearance or permissions department so the responsibility for making sure rules aren’t broken lies with the content creators themselves. |