You are allowed to copy limited extracts of works when the use is non-commercial research or private study, but you must be genuinely studying. Such use is only permitted when it is ‘fair dealing’ and copying the whole work would not generally be considered fair dealing. In assessing whether your use of the work is permitted or not you must assess if there is any financial impact on the copyright owner because of your use. Where the impact is not significant, the use may be acceptable.

 

❌ Not Permitted:

A band member photocopies or scans an entire test piece to study at home instead of purchasing a copy.

Fair dealing for criticism, review or quotation is allowed for any type of copyright work. Fair dealing with a work for the purpose of reporting current events is allowed for any type of copyright work other than a photograph. In each of these cases, a sufficient acknowledgement will be required.

 

✅ Permitted:

A brass band reviewer includes a short musical excerpt (a few bars) of a new test piece in a review article, giving critical commentary.

❌ Not Permitted:

A band records a full performance of a copyrighted piece, uploads it online, and claims it’s for review. The full performance is not necessary for criticism or review.

Several exceptions allow copyright works to be used for educational purposes, such as:

• The copying of works in any medium as long as the use is solely to illustrate a point, it is not done for commercial purposes, it is accompanied by a sufficient acknowledgement, and the use is fair dealing. This means minor uses, such as displaying a few lines of music on a screen, are permitted, but uses which would undermine sales of teaching materials are not.

• Performing, playing or showing copyright works in a school, university or other educational establishment for educational purposes. However, this only applies if the audience is limited to teachers, pupils and others directly connected with the activities of the establishment. It will not generally apply if parents or members of the public are in the audience. However, where a suitable license is available (such as CEFM) then this should still be used. 

• In schools, universities, and other educational settings, you can usually perform, play, or show copyright-protected works without needing special permission — but only if it’s genuinely for educational purposes. The audience must strictly be teachers, students, or people directly involved in the school’s activities. This exemption doesn’t cover events where parents or the general public are present.

 

❌ Not Permitted:

A school brass band performs a full copyrighted brass arrangement at an evening concert for parents and community members without the venue having an appropriate performance licence in place, and without seeking approval for any copyrighted published sheet music to be performed.

There are two exceptions to copyright for the benefit of disabled people. These exceptions cover you if you have a physical or mental impairment which prevents you from accessing copyright-protected materials.

One exception allows you, or someone acting on your behalf, to transform a copy of a lawfully obtained copyrighted work into a format that helps you access the material. However, this only applies where official accessible copies are not commercially available. For example, if you buy a book from a shop, then make a Braille copy to help with a visual impairment because it does not already exist commercially, then you are not infringing copyright (under the accessibility exception).

Certain legal requirements must be met in order for the disability exceptions to be relied upon when making or dealing with an accessible copy.

 

✅ Permitted:

A visually impaired cornet player enlarges their sheet music to make it readable because a large-print version is not commercially available.

❌ Not Permitted:

A band scans all parts into a digital format and provides them to players under the justification of “ease of access” or to avoid damage to originals, without checking licensing.

These institutions (formal research libraries, archives and museums) are allowed to preserve any type of copyright work that is held in their permanent collection (but not available for loan to the public) and cannot readily be replaces. This will ensure that our cultural heritage is not lost for future generations.
 

✅ Permitted:

A national brass band archive digitises rare and out-of-print brass band sheet music to preserve it for historical research.

❌ Not Permitted:

A band digitises their current music library (which is still in copyright) and makes it available to members (or other bands) online.

'Fair dealing' is a legal term used to establish whether a use of copyright material is lawful or whether it infringes copyright. The question to be asked is: how would a fair-minded and honest person have dealt with the work?

Factors that have been identified by the courts as relevant in determining whether a particular dealing with a work is fair include:

• Does using the work affect the market for the original work? If a use of a work acts as a substitute for it, causing the owner to lose revenue, then it is not likely to be fair.

• Is the amount of the work taken reasonable and appropriate? Was it necessary to use the amount that was taken? Usually only part of a work may be used.

The relative importance of any one factor will vary according to the case in hand and the type of dealing in question.

There is a general misconception that you are able to copy music if it is for 'fair use', or that you can perform a 30s snippet of something and not have to worry about copyright. However, this is not a relevant phrase in UK law and the exceptions are very specific.

In addition to these exceptions, Music Publishers Association Ltd has agreed a Code of Fair Practice on the Graphic Copying of Music, which with adequate referencing allows for:

1. Emergencies: Music which has been lost or damaged when it is too late to replace it, either by purchase or hire, before a pre-arranged concert may be copied, without any application to the copyright owner, provided that:
   • If it is available on sale, a replacement is purchased as soon as possible thereafter when the copy made will be destroyed,
   OR
   • If the work is on hire, the copy made is returned with the other hire material after the performance.

    

   Each copy must be marked with the following: 'Emergency copy. Destroy after use'. 
   
   ✅ Permitted:
   
   A band temporarily photocopies a missing solo horn part for an upcoming contest, with a promise to replace it immediately after the event. The copy is destroyed after use.
   
   ❌ Not Permitted:
   
   A band keeps using photocopies indefinitely without purchasing a replacement.

2. Performance difficulties: A performer who possesses a piece of music and who needs for their personal use a second copy of a page of the work for ease of performance due to a difficult page-turn, may make one copy of the relevant part for that purpose without any application to the copyright owner. Copying whole movements, or whole works is expressly forbidden under this section. When such a work has been hired, the copy made must be returned with the other hire material after the performance.
   Each copy must be marked with the following: 'Copy made with permission'.


3. Study and research: Bona fide students or teachers, whether they are in an educational establishment or not, may without application to the copyright owner make copies of short excerpts of musical works provided that they are for study only (not performance).
   Each copy must be marked with the following: 'Copy for study only'.


4. Orchestra and band parts, and classroom sets: In the case of works published for band (but not for smaller ensembles) or in classroom sets and where the publisher has expressly stated in writing extra parts are not sold individually but only in sets, copies of extra parts may be made provided that the number so made does not exceed a "quarter set" in quantity and provided that the person or organisation making the copies has already purchased one or more sets. Note: A "quarter set" is defined as a quarter of the total number of parts in the publisher's standard set. In this instance it is the number of parts and not the number of pages that is the relevant criterion.
   Each copy must be marked with the following: 'Copy made with permission'.


5. Adjudicator or examiner copy: A person performing a work in front of an examiner or adjudicator may make one copy per examiner/adjudicator provided that the participant or candidate has already purchased their own copy and that the copy/copies made is/are retained and destroyed by the adjudicator(s) or examiner(s) immediately after the event.
   Each copy must be marked with the following: 'Adjudicator/examiner copy. Destroy after use.'