Exceptions

There are a number of exemptions under copyright law in most countries including Myanmar such as Fair Dealing. These are ‘defences’ which mean that, while there is provision to use content without permission, this use can be challenged by rights owners if they do not agree with the interpretation of Fair Dealing.

Exemptions under Fair Dealing are:

• criticism, review, and more recently, parody
• news reporting
• personal study and non-commercial research
• education (personal study and other limited provision).

The exemption for education allows students and academic researchers to access and copy the work of others (as they wish) as long as that original work is properly credited, and the use is fair. Note: use of a whole work (for example, a book) may not be fair under this provision. Students and researchers use reference lists and bibliographies to credit the contributions of others in the development of their own ideas.

Creative Commons licences, set out in easy to understand language and symbols, provide a means for establishing specific rights without the need to contact the copyright owner. This is explained on the next page.