Insubstantial portions

An insubstantial portion of a copyright work may be used without a copyright owner's permission, such as a quote or brief excerpt that may be included in a journal article or a thesis.

However, determining what constitutes an insubstantial portion can be difficult as the Copyright Act does not define how much can be used. Generally, if the portion is key, distinct, important or essential to the work, it is unlikely to be considered an insubstantial portion. Consider the following before making a decision:

• The amount used compared to the size of the overall work. It is less likely that a copied portion of a smaller work would be considered insubstantial. Quoting a few lines, or even a few paragraphs, from a book or journal article could be considered insubstantial however, a few lines from a song or poem are less likely to be considered insubstantial.
• The context of the portion used. For example, the first paragraph of a newspaper article will generally summarise the key points or facts of the article, therefore it is not likely to be considered insubstantial.
• The purpose. The intended use for the insubstantial portion. It is less likely that an insubstantial portion that is used for commercial purposes would be acceptable.
• The type of material. It can be more difficult to determine what is an insubstantial portion of artistic works, musical works, films and sound recordings because of the nature and size of the overall work. It is likely that a few seconds from a sound recording or a few minutes of a film will be considered insubstantial.

Always correctly and fully cite any insubstantial portions, within greater works.