For users
If your organisation photocopies or scans from published works, you might need a licence.
Everything published is protected by copyright. This includes books, journals, newspapers, magazines, and artistic works – even when the copyright symbol © isn’t displayed.
To copy or share someone else’s work, you need permission from the copyright owner or rightsholder. This applies whether you’re copying onto paper or scanning to create digital files.
You can copy without permission for:
- Research or private study
- Criticism or review
- Reporting current events
The amount copied must be fair and may need to be accompanied by a sufficient acknowledgment. An entire poem or article might be fair for study purposes. An entire book when you only need one chapter isn’t.
In education, teachers can copy without permission:
- A single copy for lesson planning
- Multiple copies up to 3% or three pages (whichever is greater)
When you need a licence
Beyond these limits, you need a licence. Getting permission work-by-work is time-consuming and often impractical when you’re physically or digitally reproducing work regularly.
We provide blanket licences that allow schools, universities, and businesses to copy legally while ensuring creators get paid.
Our licences cover photocopying and scanning from physical books, journals, and magazines up to 10% or one chapter of any work. Newspaper use depends on your licence type.
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A smart assistant trained on our information and copyright law.
“The entire learning sector benefits
from respecting copyright”
—Adrian Keane, Chief Executive at educational publisher and distributor Edify
