Generally, a writer or publisher will need permission to reproduce all or a "substantial part" of song lyrics, which are usually a “literary work”.

Because it can be difficult to work out whether or not a line from a song is a reproduction of a substantial part of the song's lyrics, and because music publishers can be very protective of their rights, many publishers get permission for even a couple of lines of a lyric.

We recommend that publishers, if they are expecting their editors to look out for possible copyright issues, develop guidelines to assist them in this regard.