An Introduction to Copyright
The very foundation of publishing is the concept of intellectual copyright – that is, if you make something, it’s yours to replicate and distribute, and no one else can come along and, say, photocopy it. So since you’re looking to self-publish your words, that’s important, because it means you have a legal framework for protecting your work.
But it’s important to think about other people’s intellectual copyright too. Because while it might be obvious that you can’t type up Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings and put your name on the front cover, the same rules apply to quoting lyrics from songs, including pictures… and so on.
So it’s important to think about this from the outset. Here’s a few things to look out for, based on the most common oversights:
• Have you included lyrics from ABBA’s ‘Waterloo’? Whether five words or fifty, whether it’s the Pussycat Dolls or Stormzy.
• Have you quoted lines from a film or TV show? Yes, all the one-liners from Friends are in copyright.
• Have you quoted any other books?
• Have you quoted a blog? Facebook post? Insta reel?
This list is not exhaustive, but will hopefully get you thinking – if you’ve used anyone else’s words but your own you’ll need to work out if they’re in copyright.
Did you quote some lyrics? You’re in good company. Many do! So now you need to work out whether they’re in copyright…
Copyright guidelines
Please bear in mind that we’re offering blanket advice here, not legal guidelines. You can find out a lot more by hunting around on the Internet, or if you have specific queries we will be able to offer you tailored advice when we’re working together.
First, work out where you want to distribute your book. If you want to sell it internationally you’ll have to bear in mind international copyright rules. In this short guide we will focus on UK law, which is applicable to much of Europe, as well as ‘commonwealth territories’ (in publishing this covers Australia and Canada and others), and we will touch on US copyright law.
In the UK
Copyright in the UK is governed by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, which says that all intellectual copyright is automatically applied (i.e. you don’t have to do anything for copyright to apply) to all creative works, and is covered for 70 years from the end of the year the creator (we’ll assume author) died.
So what does that look like? Let’s take a couple of authors – how about the outrageous (and sadly neglected) author Tom Sharpe (1928–2013), and the beloved Virginia Woolf (1882–1941).
Tom Sharpe’s books will therefore be in copyright from 2013, when he died, for a further 70 years, so 2083 – and until the end of that year: so his books will enter the public domain in the UK on the 1st of January 2084. A while to go.
Ginie, however, dying in 1941 (+70 =) entered the public domain on the 1st of January 2012.
Exclusions
There are slight complications – if a book was published posthumously, it is in copyright for 70 years from the date of first publication.
So back to Virginia: several of her works are still in copyright – for example, the pieces included in the 1976 collection of her work, Moments of Being. These will be in copyright until (1976+70) the 1st of January 2047.
If you’re quoting a translation, even if the ‘underlying copyright’ (i.e. the author) is in the public domain, you’ll have to check the translator’s dates, since they are covered by the same legal protections.
IN THE UNITED STATES
Things are a bit different in the States, and – dare we say – even more complicated, due to a hefty about-turn in the twentieth century. Generally speaking, works are protected by copyright for 70 years after the author’s death or 95 years after publication.
Because US estates were given the option of renewing copyright, but not everyone took this up, it’s not always easy to ascertain which books are still in copyright in the US.
What to do about copyright
So if the work you’ve quoted happens to be in the public domain – hooray! If not, you’ve got to decide what to do, and you have a choice: get permission or lose it.
Obtaining permission
If you want to go down this route, bear in mind that it’s going to cost. Not always a huge amount of money – and indeed sometimes music bands will bemusedly say ‘Right on, go for it, how original!’ (Yes, that happened to us – Mogwai, we’re big fans!)
If it’s an author you’re hoping to quote, you’ll likely need to go through their publisher. A good place to start is looking that up online. Go to Waterstones (there are other good sites available!) and look up the book. You’ll see the publisher listed – you’ll then need to look up that publisher and find their rights or permissions contact. They will probably walk you through it (or, if they’re a bigger publisher, might well have an automated system – Faber, for example, have a tool that spits out an instant quote), but they will want to know a few details – who you’re quoting, how many words you want to use, the context (epigraph? in an essay? Using character names for your chapter titles?), and a bit of info about your book (paperback or hardback, RRP, print run and – all important – territory, i.e. where you want to sell your books – UK only or international?).
When you’ve given them all the information they need you’ll have a £ figure for permissions clearance, and then you can make an informed decision on whether to include or no.
Avoiding asking
If you haven’t got time to go through the permissions process (it can take a while – although some are very quick – Faber again – many publishers ask for six months, and some take longer; we’re still waiting to hear back from some we contacted in 2021 – yes, really), or if you can’t shoulder the permissions costs, you’ll need to remove the quoted text.
In some exceptional circumstances you might think that your work would be immeasurably poorer for the loss of the quote – and if that’s the case then you might just be able to paraphrase. Say if you’re writing a non-fiction book about psychology, and you can’t really publish the book without quoting the results of a recent breakthrough that’s covered by copyright, you could describe it instead, making sure to avoid lifting phrases. But be careful – it’s easy to accidentally plagiarise, and if you go down that route you’ll have to be very careful not to quote. If you’re concerned, flag it and we’ll advise.
But what about ‘fair dealing’?
Yes, we thought you’d ask that! ‘Fair dealing’ is indeed a get-out-of-jail-free card – but it’s not something you can really grant yourself. Even if you think ‘but I only quote ten words – I’m sure it’s fine’, you’ll have to clear permissions.
Why? Because the fair-dealing clause doesn’t quantify or qualify. It doesn’t say ‘quotes under ten words are exempt’. And there’s a big difference between quoting the opening lines of a book, say, than a passing comment embedded in the book!
We hope you found this introduction to copyright helpful! Be not concerned – it’s complicated, but it’s a relatively quick stage of the publishing process.
There are plenty of online sources if you want to go hunting for more information, and many books on the subject. Many self-published authors rave about the help given in Getting Permission (How to License and Clear Copyrighted Material Online and Off) by Richard Stim, and you can likely find this in your local bookshop or library.
Fear not – we’ll be able to offer you advice on copyright if you have any concerns.