Copyright Ordinance, fair dealing for research, private study, criticism, review, quotation and reporting

Section 38(1) provides that fair dealing with a work for the purposes of research or private study does not infringe copyright, but copying by someone other than the researcher or student is not fair dealing if they know or have reason to believe it 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.

Section 39 provides the same for fair dealing for criticism or review and for quotation to the extent required by the purpose, in each case of a work that has been released or communicated to the public, and for reporting or commenting on current events, in each case accompanied by a sufficient acknowledgement subject to section 39(6).

In deciding whether a dealing is fair, the court takes into account all the circumstances, including the purpose and nature of the dealing and whether it is of a commercial nature, the nature of the work, the amount and substantiality of the portion dealt with, and the effect on the potential market for or value of the work.

Under section 37(3), the primary consideration for every permitted act is that it does not conflict with a normal exploitation of the work and does not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the copyright owner. A compilation of data or other material that by reason of the selection or arrangement of its contents constitutes an intellectual creation is a literary work.

The Ordinance commenced on 27 June 1997; section 38(3) in its present form was substituted by Ordinance 15 of 2007, and section 39 in its present form by Ordinance 16 of 2022.