[Under construction]
General information
The article on plagiarism at Forskerportalen deals with the general legal and research ethical requirements towards using the work of others. These general standards are supplemented by more precise legal rules regarding quotations from and reproduction of works of art and descriptive works in research publications. These rules are described in more detail in this article.
Quotations
A quotation is defined as a (small) part of something said or written which is reproduced verbatim. The quoted work may be – and often is – protected by copyright, so the right to quote is regulated by copyright law.
In Denmark, the general rule on quotations is found in section 22 of the Danish Copyright Act, which reads as follows:
“Section 22. A person may quote from a work which has been made public in accordance with proper usage and to the extent required for the purpose”
For more about this subject, see Morten Rosenmeier’s book ”Ophavsret for begyndere – en bog til ikke-jurister “ (2014), pp. 115-122.
Copyright law is national, and the right to quote is thus regulated in more detail in each country. This can give rise to challenges in research publications which usually have an international audience, because in this case it must in principle be ensured that quotes meet the requirements of “good citation practice” of all the countries in which the research publication is published. Since no one can really grasp all aspects of this, it has prompted many publishers to include (unreasonable) provisions in their publishing agreements to the effect that it is the researcher’s responsibility to ensure that all quotes are legal, which is further discussed in the article on publishing agreements on the Researcher Portal.
Reproduction of works of art etc.
Under section 22 of the Danish Copyright Act it is not usually permitted to quote “works of art” (including photographs) and “descriptive works” (including technical drawings, etc.), if these works are protected by copyright. Instead, sections 22 and 24 of the Danish Copyright Act apply, which among other things include the following rules:
“Section 23. Works of art and works of a descriptive nature, cf. section 1(2), which have been made public may be used in critical or scientific presentations in connection with the text in accordance with proper usage and to the extent required for the purpose. Reproduction is not allowed for commercial purposes
…
(3) Published works of art or copies of works of art that have been transferred to others by the author may be used in newspapers, periodicals, films and television if the use is of subordinate importance in the context in question.
Section 24. Artworks that are part of a collection, or as displayed or offered for sale, may be reproduced in catalogues of the collection. Such works of art may also be used in notices of exhibitions or sale, including in the form of communication to the public
(2) Works of art may be reproduced in pictorial form and then made available to the public if they are permanently situated in a public place or road. The provision of the first sentence shall not apply if the work of art is the chief motif and its reproduction is used for commercial purposes.
(3) Buildings may be freely reproduced.”
For more about these regulations, see Morten Rosenmeier’s book ”Ophavsret for begyndere – en bog til ikke-jurister “ (2014), pp. 123-125.
As mentioned above in the section about quotations, copyright is governed by national legislation, which can give rise to challenges in research publications, which usually have an international audience. In connection with the reproduction of the works of art of others (including photographs) and descriptive works of others (including technical drawings, graphs and diagrams) in research publications, many publishers have added provisions to their publishing agreements to the effect that it is the researcher’s responsibility to ensure that such reproductions are legal, which is further described the article on publishing agreements.
