Fair dealing in United Kingdom law

Fair dealing in United Kingdom law is a doctrine which provides an exception to United Kingdom copyright law, in cases where the copyright infringement is for the purposes of non-commercial research or study, criticism or review, or for the reporting of current events. More limited than the United States doctrine of fair use, fair dealing originates in Sections 29 and 30 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, and requires the infringer to show not only that their copying falls into one of the three fair dealing categories, but also that it is "fair" and, in some cases, that it contains sufficient acknowledgement for the original author. Factors when deciding the "fairness" of the copying can include the quantity of the work taken, whether it was previously published, the motives of the infringer and what the consequences of the infringement on the original author's returns for the copyrighted work will be.

Research and study does not apply to commercial research, and does not include infringements of broadcasts, sound recordings or film; it also has only a limited application to software. These exclusions have been criticised as failing "to reflect the increasing importance of non-textual media for both study and research".^[1] Research cannot be private, and in a non-academic setting must also not have a future potential commercial purpose. This exception also excludes, under Section 29(3)(b) of the 1988 Act, copying which will result in "copies of substantially the same material being provided to more than one person at substantially the same time and for substantially the same purpose".^[2] Criticism or review is interpreted liberally, and may include criticism or review of a work's social or moral implications or its impact, but this exception is only available when the work in question has been previously made available to the public. Reporting of current events is only an exception where the event is "current", and may exclude trivial or ephemeral news; such news can, however, become an "event" through media coverage.