1 NHS LICENCE
1.1 WHY DO WE NEED THIS LICENCE?
The NHS has agreed a Licence with Copyright Licensing Agency (which represents authors, artists and publishers) in order to simplify copyright compliance and improve access to information in the NHS.
The NHS licence permits both digital (scanned) and paper copies of licensed materials to be made and distributed, in hard copy or digital format by NHSnet or another secure password protected email for internal NHS purposes.
1.2 WHO IS COVERED BY THE NHS LICENCE?
All NHS staff, general practitioners employed or contracted to NHS, consultants to the NHS and “non-executive members” of the public who sit on designated NHS Trust Committee who have access to NHSnet or other secure email system verifying their authority.
1.3 WHO IS NOT COVERED BY THE NHS LICENCE?
Day visitors, external members, students and lecturers on courses here are not automatically covered by the NHS licence unless they work in the NHS as set out above.
1.4 WHAT CAN BE COPIED OR SCANNED?
1.4.1 two articles from a magazine, journal or periodical
1.4.2 any number of articles in a periodical dealing with a particular theme where a substantial part of the issue is dedicated to that theme
1.4.3 one entire case or 5% whichever is greater from a published report of judicial proceedings
1.4.4 one chapter or 5% from a book whichever is greater
1.4.5 Multiple copies. As many copies as required can be copied or transmitted for each particular NHS purpose (for example a Unit comprising 10 staff could have 10 copies for a staff meeting.)
1.4.6 A single paper copy of an article about their treatment or condition can be provided by NHS staff to patients, guardians and carers.
There are still some restrictions.
1.5 NHS USERS CAN NOT:
1.5.1 Copy or transmit extracts from “born digital” resources such as electronic books and journals. There are two types of digital copies. Those which have been scanned and digitised from paper resources and those which are “born digital”. “Born digital” works, are not covered by the NHS licence. This means that although it is legal to circulate a scanned digital copy of an article from a paper journal to NHS colleagues by email, it would not be legal to circulate a pdf of an article from a “born digital” source such as an electronic journal, neither would it be legal to photocopy print-outs of electronic journal articles or chapters from electronic books.
1.5.2 Scan or transmit extracts from magazines, periodicals, journals and books published outside the <country-region w:st="on"></country-region><place w:st="on"></place>United Kingdom</place><//place></country-region><//country-region>. The licence only permits digital copies to be made from magazines, periodicals, journals and books published in the <country-region w:st="on"></country-region>United Kingdom</country-region><//country-region>, although paper copies may be made of licensed works published outside the <country-region w:st="on"></country-region><place w:st="on"></place>United Kingdom</place><//place></country-region><//country-region>. Please check the CLA website http://www.cla.co.uk for further details and ask the library if you are still unsure
1.5.3 Create an electronic library resource from digital copies produced under the licence or make digital copies available via the Internet or an Intranet. Digital copies may not be systematically indexed and stored so as to create an electronic library, although NHS users may save a digital copy to their own computer.
1.5.4 Photocopy or scan from items not covered by the licence. Not all works are covered by the license e.g. printed music, maps. For full details of excluded categories and excluded works please check the Copyright Licensing Agency website link: http://www.cla.co.uk/support/excluded.html
1.6 Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) Information Audits
The NHS licence is a blanket licence and as such does not require records to be kept of every digital or paper copy made. However, to ensure the licence fee income is fairly distributed, the CLA selects a sample of NHS Trusts to cooperate with an information audit or similar data collection exercise. Selected Trusts will be requested to provide details of all magazine, book, journal and periodical holdings to the CLA.
2 ACCESSIBLE COPIES FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED USERS
2.1 The NHS CLA licence permits NHS staff to supply an accessible copy of part of the whole of any work covered by the CLA NHS licence in any accessible format required by a visually impaired user. Visually impaired is interpreted broadly by the CLA and now includes dyslexia and other disabilities recognized by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
In order to make accessible copies, the library must:
2.1.1 ensure the licensed material is not commercially available in the required format.
2.1.2 own or have lawful possession (this includes borrowed items) of a copy of the original work
There are no extent limits, however, IF
2.1.3 the accessible copy is more than 5% of the total work OR :
2.1.3.1 In the case of a periodical more than 2 whole articles in any single issue (unless this is a themed issue where only the themed papers are adapted) OR
2.1.3.2 In the case of a book, more than one chapter OR
2.1.3.3 More than one single case of a published report of judicial proceedings
then accessible copy must contain the following statement:
“This is a copy of the original work made under a CLA licence for the personal use of a visually impaired person and it may not be further copied (including any electronic copying or transmission) or dealt with without permission or save as may be permitted by law” plus the title, name of the author and published of the original work and the published edition from which it has been copied.
3 HE or NHS? HE/NHS INTERFACE & COPYING
The CLA recommends that in a cross-over situation in a hybrid HE/NHS library such as ours, “common sense” should prevail. Most library members here are covered by either the HE or the NHS license and many by both. Copying should comply with the licence appropriate to its context.
For example, students enrolled on registered courses here are covered by the HE licence and should not copy more than one article from a single journal issue but clinicians working here are covered by the NHS licence and can copy two articles from a single journal issue. However, the students may also be NHS employees, many are, and are thus entitled to copy two articles from a single issue in the context of their NHS work, but in the context of copying for their course they are only entitled to copy one article. It depends on the purpose of the copying.
4 EXCEPTIONS TO HE & NHS LICENCES
Exceptions to these are external members and visitors. This is because they are not lecturing or registered as a student on an HE-accredited course of study and do not work for the NHS. This doesn’t mean they can’t copy or download anything it just means they must comply with the recommended limits set out on the library’s CILIP posters at copiers and printers.
5 ROLE OF THE LIBRARY
The library has a legal and professional duty to ensure copyright is respected. However it is simply not practical or desirable for us to police every single user activity . Users already sign a copyright declaration when they register as well as being given ample copyright information in the form of notices at copiers throughout the library, and in our opinion this clearly places the onus to stay legal on them.
For further information about the HE and NHS licences please contact Lise Szwann, Membership & Legal Librarian on ext. 2306 lszwann@tavi-port.org
FURTHER INFORMATION
NHS Licence
www.library.nhs.uk/forlibrarians/copyright
www.cla.co.uk
NHS & HE licence Interface
www.cla.co.uk/licensing/gov/gov_nhs_he.html
General Copyright Information
www.bl.uk/services/information/copyrightfaq.html
www.cilip.org.uk/professionalguidance/copyright/
LS 15/1/08
