Due to a change in copyright legislation outlined below, The R&A and the British G olf Museum are unable to carry out any copying for the purposes of commercial research or study but we will continue to offer a copying service for copies required for non-commercial research.
Copyright law changed with effect from 31 October 2003 when the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 was amended by the Copyright Regulations 2003. As a result of the changes The R &A and the British G olf Museum have had to change their policy on copying materials from the library.
Until 31 October 2003 , under the 1988 Act copying of copyright material for the purposes of research and private study did not constitute an infringement of copyright. This exception will have covered much of the copying carried out by The R&A and the British G olf Museum
The Act has now changed so that only copying for research and private study for non-commercial purposes now fall within the exception. As a result copying without a licence for the purposes of commercial research and commercial private study will be an infringement of copyright.
Commercial in the context of the Act is synonymous with "directly or indirectly income-generating".The purpose is the decisive factor so non-profit institutions may need consent for some copying, whereas employees of commercial firms may only in rare cases be able to make copies without permission. If you are in doubt as to whether your copying is commercial, guidance is available from the Copyright Licensing Agency and we would recommend visiting www.cla.co.uk/directive/BL-CLA-FAQ.doc.
In order to ensure that we comply with the new legislation, you will need to sign a copyright declaration confirming the purposes for which you require the copies are non-commercial. This will be sent to you on receipt of your enquiry. Due to the obligations imposed by the legislation, The R&A and the British G olf Museum cannot provide any copying without first receiving a copyright declaration with your request.