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Terms of Use - Further Details

Songs

It has not been within the scope of this project to indicate whether a song is traditional or not. Where information about composers was known, this has been added to the item record (item notes). Where such information is absent, no presumption can be made that there is no composer.

If you want to quote from a song and this is not a substantial part and is for non-commercial/private research, criticism or review, or reporting current events, then it may be possible for this to be done without permission under fair dealing as long as the conditions for fair dealing are met and the source is quoted . Please refer to the information about fair dealing and the guidelines for citation, which is available further down this page.

If you want to use a whole song, it is up to you to verify whether the song is traditional and negotiate permissions with the School of Scottish Studies Archives, bearing in mind that the contributor may have assigned rights to them. The School will still need to contact rights holders about new uses.

If the song is copyright non-traditional material, further permissions will be required.

Stories, Poems and Oral History Accounts

If you want to quote from a story, poem or oral history account, for example, and this is not a substantial part and is for non-commercial/private research, criticism or review, or reporting current events, then it may be possible for this to be done without permission under fair dealing as long as the conditions for fair dealing are met and the source is quoted.

If a whole item is to be transcribed, translated, quoted or otherwise adapted, further permission would be required – if this is done without prior permission, it will be an infringement.

If a story is an old legend or traditional story not under copyright in itself, there may still be a copyright in the words spoken by the contributor, because the speaker may invest the story with his own embellishments, local details etc and it will be his/her own words that hold the copyright. Permissions must be sought for any use other than quoting a non-substantial part and it must be for non-commercial/private research, criticism or review, or reporting current events.

If a story seems to be a traditional story with no real embellishment or adaptation by the speaker, you must decide whether permission needs to be sought, bearing in mind that the permissions Tobar an Dualchais has sought from copyright holders merely allow us to publish the material online for streaming only and for no further use. To do any of the above, we too would have to seek further permissions.

Fair Dealing

Each user must make their own judgement as to the legality of their use of any item on this website. Although this is a complex area of copyright law, Tobar an Dualchais understands that fair dealing works as follows. This is not to be taken as legal advice and Tobar an Dualchais cannot be held responsible for any infringement caused by users of this site. The advice has been interpreted using: Tim Padfield "Copyright for Archivists and Records Managers" and "Copyright: Interpreting the law for libraries, archives and information services" - Graham Cornish.

Please read the following points before considering using items under fair dealing:

  • You may not quote a piece in its entirety
  • The quantity used must not be "substantial" in terms of quantity or quality.
  • Is the quantity of material you are using excessive in the circumstances?
  • What proportion of the work are you quoting? It is considered that extracts could be fair dealing if they amounted to no more than:
  • up to 400 words in a single quotation or
  • up to a total of 800 words in a series of short quotations, none of which is longer than 300 words although this is just guidance and these specific word limits will not apply in every case: a shorter extract can still be "substantial" in quantity when compared to the size of the whole work, and can be "substantial" in quality irrespective of what proportion of the word count of the whole work it represents.
  • Does your use fit into one of the three categories of fair dealing? (1. non-commercial research or private study; 2. criticism or review; 3. news reporting of current events)
  • Has sufficient acknowledgement been given, crediting the original source of the material and Tobar an Dualchais? See guidelines for citation futher down this page.
  • What is your motive for using the items? Altruistic or benevolent motives are more likely to qualify for fair dealing than (for example) being motivated by financial gain.
  • Could your purpose in using the item be achieved by different means which are less intrusive to the copyright owner's rights?

Fair Dealing: Non-commercial Research or Private Study

Fair dealing in this category does not infringe copyright in literary works (song lyrics, spoken oral histories), dramatic or musical works.

There is no fair dealing for these purposes in films, sound recordings or broadcasts.

Education

Sound recordings may be played in the classroom setting for educational purposes.

Adaptation

The copyright owner has the exclusive right to make or authorise the making of an adaptation of a literary, dramatic or musical work. For most literary works (includes spoken word oral histories and song lyrics), adaptation means a translation or a conversion of a literary to dramatic work (and vice-versa). For musical works it means an arrangement or transcription.

Translations and Transcripts

The making of indexes, translations, summaries and transcripts of copyright literary (including lyrics, spoken word oral histories, poems), dramatic and musical works is or may be an infringement by copying unless prior approval is obtained.

A translation into another language counts as an adaptation and is an infringement.

A transcript of a literary or dramatic work is a manual copy, and unless it is of an insubstantial part of the work will be an infringement. See fair dealing section (above) for exceptions.

A transcription of a musical work is an adaptation and will be an infringement.

A person creating notation of a piece of music is adapting the original work and is therefore infringing copyright if prior permission has not been sought, unless the item is a traditional song, which you must judge and research for yourself.

In some cases, the resulting indexes, transcripts, translations and summaries will themselves qualify as new copyright works but use of them could still indirectly infringe any copyright still subsisting in the original works.

Citation / Quoting from the Materials on the Website

When citing the content of this website, please remember to credit both the original source of the material and Tobar an Dualchais. We suggest the following format for Canna Archive and School of Scottish Studies Archive material:

Name of contributor, (title if appropriate, e.g. for songs), source archive original identifier (tape, or tape and track where available), Tobar an Dualchais/Kist o Riches, link to the recording, and the date you accessed it on the website.

For example:

For BBC programmes, we suggest the following format:

Name of contributor, title of programme, BBC transmission date, Tobar an Dualchais/Kist o Riches, link to the recording, and the date you accessed it on the website.

For example: