Assuming that the contract under which you bought the audio book doesn’t specifically permit you to make the multiple copies for students, you will usually need to contact the relevant publisher or producer to see whether it will give you permission.

In some rare cases, you may be able to rely on the “special case” or “flexible dealing” provision (section 200AB) to make the copies, but this is only likely to be the case where:

• the student needs to be able to listen to the relevant book as part of their course;

• the audio book is no longer commercially available; and

• the publisher doesn’t license multiple copying (contact them to find out).

If you do meet these provisos, you can make sure you are more securely within the parameters of section 200AB by giving the relevant student only one chapter at a time and by making sure you delete the MP3 version once it’s been used. If you need an MP3 version in the future for the same purpose, re-check for commercial availability in an iPod compatible format.

Also, in our view you should not rely on section 200AB if the terms and conditions under which you bought the audio book specifically prohibit making such copies.