Insubstantial portions
Insubstantial portions are important because they can reproduced without needing the permission of the copyright owner. Use of an insubstantial portion is not restricted to particular purposes such as fair dealing or educational purposes. An insubstantial portion is:
- One or two pages of a literary or dramatic work which is in hardcopy form, or
- No more than one percent of the total number of pages in a literary, dramatic or notated musical work if there are more than 200 pages (be careful: see last paragraph), or
- No more than one per cent of the words in a literary work if in an electronic work.
However, insubstantial not only refers to the amount but also the context. You cannot copy or reproduce a portion of the work that is key or central to the work even if it is less than one per cent. For example: a well known section from a book or a chorus from a song may be less than one per cent of the overall work but it would not be considered an insubstantial portion because of its importance to the overall work.
The insubstantial portions exemption does not apply to copying or communicating:
- an entire periodical publication;
- entire text of a pamphlet;
- entire text of a poem or song lyric;
- artistic works.
- abstracts.
If copying or communicating an insubstantial portions for educational purposes in addition the conditions outlined above the following applies: a period of 14 days must elapse before a person relying on this provision can copy or communicate any other part of the same work & no other part of the work may be online at the same time. Non continuous passages of the work are considered different parts, so the portion copied must be a continuous extract. If the insubstantial portion is placed online it must be registered with the Copyright Office as part of the requirements of the Statutory Licence.
If copying an insubstantial portion, the source must still be acknowledged: see Moral Rights.
Quotations
Quoting from a work is not necessarily a breach of copyright. Most quotations would be considered insubstantial portions. However, you must acknowledge the source of your quotation. (Refer to Moral Rights and Citation Styles within the University). If you are planning to quote a large part of the work, it may be more than an insubstantial portion, and you may need to get permission for the reproduction.