The practical implications of the Act may the summarised as follows:
Multiple Copies
Multiple copies may be made by a lecturer for use in the classroom/lecture room or for class discussions, but these are limited to not more than:
- one short poem or article or essay of an author
OR
- two extracts from works by the same author
OR
- three short poems or articles or essays by three different authors from the same collected work or periodical volume
However, not more that nine cases of such copies may be made for a course of study for a particular class during one term. Also, one copy may be made per student course exclusive for the use or discussion in the classroom/lecture room.
Copies to Students
In one term students in a class may receive the following from a lecturer:
- Copies os nine poems or stories or essays by nine different authors;
OR
- Copies of eighteen extracts from the works of nine different authors nl. two per author
OR
- Copies of twenty-seven poems, articles or stories or essays from at least nine different collected works or periodical volumes, provided all twenty-seven are by different authors.
Exclusions
The above authorisations exclude the following:
- creating anthologies such as study manuals in which extracts from various publications are reproduced, with or without notes by the lecturer and are then made available to students;
- the copying for students of chapters from textbooks which are no longer available;
- the copying of a lecturer's own articles without express permission from his/her publisher.
What is a Reasonable Portion?
A reasonable portion is determined "taking into account the whole and the significance of the work". Therefore there is no specified quantity and no general rule, but the intention of the Act is clearly to enable a user to reproduce a substantial portion of the work - but not unreasonably much.