An abstract or summary of an article that a publisher or author provides with an article or paper (usually in academic, technical or scientific journals) is generally likely to be a “literary work” in its own right. This means that if you want to copy it (for example, to circulate to staff or to put into a catalogue), you will generally need permission.

However, if you are working in an educational institution or within a State or Federal government department or agency, you may be able to rely on provisions in the Copyright Act to copy and use the abstract. If you are studying or researching, or you are a library copying the item for a researcher or student, you may also be able to copy the item (subject, in the case of libraries, to the various procedures you will need to follow). For further information, see our information sheets Libraries (non-profit): introduction to copyright; Educational institutions and Copying for research or study, available from the Copyright Council website.

In other cases, organisations with licences from Copyright Agency Limited (CAL), a collecting society whose members are authors and publishers, may be able to copy abstracts for certain purposes. Alternatively, permission might be obtained from the publisher, either on a case-by-case basis or, for example, before renewing a subscription.

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If you want to use published material, the first point of contact is usually the publisher, who may be able to give you permission or give you some information about whom to contact. For unpublished material, the first point of contact is usually the author.

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Plagiarism generally means taking and using another person’s ideas, writing or inventions as your own. Plagiarism is not an area of law and not all acts of plagiarism are necessarily infringements of copyright. For instance, a writer or academic may breach the ethical standards expected of him or her by presenting someone else’s ideas as his or her own, but not infringe copyright because he or she has expressed the other person’s ideas in his own way.

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Acknowledging the source of the work is not a substitute for permission. If you need permission to use a quote or extract, identifying the work is not enough.

If you get permission to use a work or a substantial part of a work, you will still be obliged to respect the moral rights of the author by providing sufficient attribution of their authorship.

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If the music is protected by copyright, a special exception in the Copyright Act allows a student to copy it for research or study provided the copying is "fair". Copying a work that is available for purchase is unlikely to be fair. If the practice is part of the student's research or study, the student may be able copy the music under the exception.

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If the music is protected by copyright, a special exception in the Copyright Act (section 40) may allow a student's parent may be able to copy it for the student's research or study, provided the use is fair. Section 40 This will be be affected by whether the practice is part of the student's research or study, and whether the parent's copying is for that purpose. Section 40 is unlikely to apply if the parent is copying the music to encourage the child to practice, rather than copying on behalf of the child for his or her research or study (a the instigation of the child). Section 40 is also unlikely to apply if the parent has been asked by the school to make the copy.

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