Usage and storage of downloaded items

Lawful possession of the original work

Please be aware that RNIB Bookshare is not a copyright lawyer or expert in this area and is only able to provide general advice regarding current UK copyright law and cannot provide legal advice regarding how the law should be interpreted in specific cases. The information we host on our site has been taken from the copyright legislation and/or discussed with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).

You can contact the IPO copyright team at copyrightenquiries@ipo.gov.uk and visit the IPO website for further guidance.

Schools, Colleges and Universities

If you are downloading the file from the UK education collection as an intermediate copy which requires further modification by the you before it is passed to the student - as the "authorised body" you must have lawful possession of the original work.

Support Services

If you are downloading the file from the UK education collection as an intermediate copy which requires further modification by the you before it is passed to the organisation you are producing it for - as the "authorised body" you must have lawful possession of the original work. The organisation who has requested the modified copy must send you the "lawful" copy they hold in order for you to meet the requirements of "lawful possession". You then hand back the "lawful" edition of the original work when providing the modified file.

Learners

The law says that an individual has to own or have lawful possession of the work (owning it or borrowing it from the library) if they are making their own accessible copy. In many cases learners will be downloading books from UK education collection as their final accessible copy - so they wouldn't be required to have lawful possession of the original work.

Downloading - You MUST

• Hold the appropriate licence(s) or be eligible under The Copyright and Rights in Performances (Disability) Regulations 2014.
• Ensure appropriate safeguards, such as a secure network, passwords and electronic copy-protection, are in place to prevent unauthorised file sharing.
• Make full reference to the original title, author and publishing details in accessible formats created, and include a copyright statement.

Downloading - You may NOT

Share downloaded Items and accessible formats created from them for any purpose other than to support print-disabled learners. This includes, but is not limted to:

• using the Item or accessible format created from the electronic Item for any commercial purpose;
• making the Item available to any non-print-disabled persons other than those that need access to them to carry out the conversion to the accessible format required; and
• downloading, copying, printing or making available the Item or accessbile formats created from the electronic file (in full or in part) via any method, even to non-commercial parties, apart from the permitted use set out above;
• putting the resources on an active board to share with the whole class, if learners in the class are a mix of those with a print-disability and those without. If they all have a print-disability, you could use the active board.

Usage - You MAY

Convert the Item into an accessible format, provided that:

• all accessible changes to the Item respect the author's intentions and do not mount to a derogatory treatment of the work, and
• you make full reference to the original title, author and publishing details in accessible formats created and includes a copyright statement.

Storage - You MAY

• Store downloaded Items on a computer or electronic device belonging to the school/authority.
• Learners and parents/guardians may store the Item on their own personal computer or electronic device for sole personal use.

Copyright

Please note that whilst the author retains copyright in the Work, the original publisher has the exclusive publishing rights in the Work, and also has the copyright in the design, layout and typography. As such, the publisher is entitled to take legal action should illegitimate copies of the work be distributed by yourself or any third party, or should you be found otherwise in breach of their rights.

Copyright statement examples:

This copy is made under the terms of The Copyright and Rights in Performances (Disability) Regulations 2014 to be used only by a print-disabled person. Except as permitted by law, it may not be further copied, nor may it be supplied to any other person, without permission.

This copy is made available by Publisher Permission to be used by print-disabled people only. Except as permitted by law, it may not be further copied, nor may it be supplied to any other person, without permission.