5D Copyright and Fair Dealing : Fair Dealing
Fair dealing is a statutory defence (the statute being the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988) to copyright infringement which, from the point of view of programme-makers and broadcasters, can be very useful because it allows works (e.g. musical, literary, artistic works, clips from other television programmes and films) that are otherwise protected by the law of copyright, to be used within programmes, in certain prescribed circumstances, without being licensed i.e. without consent from the copyright owner, without payment being made and even where consent has been sought but the copyright owner has specifically refused permission for the work to be used. Clearly fair dealing will be helpful in those circumstances where programme-makers wish to review critically a copyright work e.g. a film, book or another television programme, and the author or copyright owner refuses. Note: fair dealing is a defence to copyright infringement in the UK and whilst some other countries do have similar defences, they are not the same. If international sales are anticipated for a programme, therefore, fair dealing is unlikely to be suitable unless the intention is to seek specific legal advice on the law in each country to which the programme is intended to be distributed.
Where there is any intention to ‘fair deal' material, programme-makers must seek the consent and advice of the programme lawyer.
For a detailed, practical explanation of the law of fair dealing, please see the Fair Dealing Guidelines, at Appendix 7E.