New UK Exceptions to Copyright

A number of new exceptions to copyright have come into force in the UK over the past few months, most notably for publishers in the areas of education, private copying, and parody. These exceptions are similar to exceptions already in place in Australian Copyright Law.

The UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has issued guidance notes on these changes and how they will affect consumers, educators, creators and rights holders. The notes can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-copyright-law.

Certain exceptions only apply if the use of the work is a ‘fair dealing’. There is no statutory definition of fair dealing - it will always be a matter of degree and interpretation in each case. In general though, if the use of a work acts as a substitute for it, causing the owner to lose revenue, then it is not likely to be fair.