It’s that time of year again: the tan is long gone and you need to produce classroom materials to grip the imagination of a restless class and satisfy the head - or Ofsted. Like every other teacher, you frantically search the internet, trawl through books and get in early to beat the queue for the photocopier. But are you breaking the law?

Teachers who run off another set of prints from the computer or photocopier seldom consider that they may be infringing copyright, which is a criminal offence. As content becomes more valuable and methods of detection easier, the consequences of copyright infringement are becoming increasingly expensive and embarrassing.

Luckily, the law allows teachers who need materials for classroom use to copy more than other people. But what can you safely copy without infringing these rights?

Copying by hand

Copyright is not infringed if words, music or pictures are copied in the course of or in preparation for instruction. This exception to the copyright laws does not apply to photocopying or electronic scanning, so is unlikely to be of practical use. But you can copy entire books on to the blackboard for pupils to transfer to their books.

Photocopying

Most schools have entered into agreements with the Copyright Licensing Agency, which allows you to photocopy from books, periodicals and journals. There are exceptions, such as sheet music and newspapers (the CLA regularly circulates the list of exclusions).

The licences have limits. You may copy up to 5 per cent of a book or one whole article from any one issue of a journal. If you want to copy a greater percentage, such as half a picture book, or an excluded work, you will need permission from the publisher. The CLA licence relates only to copying from books, periodicals and journals. If you want to photocopy any other copyright work, such as a postcard or a painting, you will need permission from the copyright owner.

Copying from the internet

This is not a copyright-free zone. While some educational sites have been set up by teachers and other people who are happy for you to download their material (see Friday, September 14), others will require a licence or payment. Don’t assume that you can copy material just because it isn’t protected by a copyright notice or symbol. You must assume that everything has copyright protection. It isn’t difficult to trace visitors to a site and find out if you have been copying without permission.

Broadcasting films

Your school probably has a licence to record broadcast and cable programmes for educational purposes. The playing of a sound recording, film, broadcast or cable programme in front of teachers and pupils is not a public performance if it is done as part of the school’s activities and for the purposes of instruction. You can show your class the recordings, and commercial films and videos, although an after-school club showing 102 Dalmatians may infringe performance rights if it is being shown for entertainment.

Performance

The performance of a literary, dramatic or musical work in front of teachers and pupils is not a public performance if it is part of the school’s activities or for the purposes of instruction. While you can rehearse the school play, you need a licence from the copyright owner for the performance if parents will be in the audience.

Changing material

All the permissions above are given on the basis that you do not change the material. Even the most altruistic of websites state that their material must be used without alteration. If you do make changes, particularly if they ridicule or distort the original work, you could be in breach of the author’s moral rights to object.

Credits

You should always name the author or artist of any copied material. Failure to do so is unethical and may be a breach of the author’s moral right to be credited.

The golden rules of copying are: think - remember that most work you will want to use is protected by copyright; ask - if in doubt get a licence from the copyright owner; credit - name the author of the work. You tell pupils off for copying; make sure you keep the same rules.

Nicola Solomon is partner and head of intellectual property at Finers Stephens Innocent solicitors