Q. Can I quote from someone else's work?

Quoting from third party copyright material is possible under a statutory exception in UK copyright legislation. 

The relevant exception in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (amended 2014) is S.30 Criticism, review, quotation and news reporting.

Under this exception, quoting from any type of work is allowed for criticism and review of a work, a related work, or a performance of the work provided:

• the source is properly acknowledged, for example, by using quotation marks and referencing the source appropriately, unless this is impracticable;
• the original work has been made lawfully available to the public;
• the use of the quotation is fair dealing (i.e. insubstantial and does not harm the rights owner's interests or right to profit from the work);
• the amount quoted is no more than is specifically required for the purpose.

Provided they meet all the above criteria, quotations can be used without the need to obtain permission from the copyright owner in a range of scenarios including: 

• in coursework, including doctoral theses and dissertations.
• in publications
• in lecture materials
• in examinations

The exception can be applied, irrespective of any contract which limits or restricts acts which would otherwise be allowed under the exception. 

Judging whether a quotation is fair dealing

It can be difficult to assess whether a quotation is fair dealing as no quantity is given in the legislation. Each case should be carefully considered, looking at the potential distribution and impact on the copyright owner. For example, a copyright owner may view copying for a piece of coursework as fair dealing but copying the same material for commercial publishing might be considered unfair. 

To protect themselves from liability for infringement, authors may be asked by commercial publishers to clear rights for quotations which might be seen as substantial. This is routine for material such as photographs, figures and other images which are difficult to quote from as they often need to be reproduced in full.

Guidance from the Intellectual Property Office (IPO)  may also be useful. Quotation is specifically mentioned in Exceptions to copyright: research, page 11.

See also the links below.