Copyright Research

Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of the original work gives exclusive rights to. Generally, it is "the right to copy", but also gives the copyright holder the right to be credited for the work, to determine who may adapt the work to other forms, who may perform the work, who may financially benefit from it, and other related rights. Copyright applies to any medium, so you must not reproduce copyright protected work in another medium without permission, this can include, publishing photos on the internet, making a sound recording of a book, a painting of a photograph and many more.

As a general rule, the owner of the copyright is the person who created it, i.e. the author.  An author could be the writer, the composer, the artist, the producer or the publisher or another creator depending on the type of work. 
One important exception to this is when an employee creates a work in the course of their employment in which case the copyright owner will be the employer.

A copyright owner has both economic and moral rights. Economic rights cover acts that only the copyright owner can do or authorize.  These include the right to copy the work, distribute copies of it, rent or lend it, perform or show it, communicate it to the public (including making it available online) or adapt it (e.g. making it into a play).

Exceptions 

There are a number of specified copyright exceptions in UK law which permit copying in certain circumstances (for instance for use in judicial proceedings) or for certain categories of people (for instance for those who are visually impaired).  More detailed information regarding these exceptions is beyond the scope of this overview but can be found in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or on the UK Intellectual Property Office's website.
In addition to the specified exceptions, there exists a group of exemptions which fall within the scope of ‘fair dealing'.  Material reproduced for the purposes of non-commercial research or private study, for criticism or review or for the reporting of current events is included in this group.  If material is reproduced for these purposes, provided it is genuinely and fairly used for the stated purpose, and is accompanied by a sufficient acknowledgement, it may be considered fair dealing and thus exempt from clearance.  However, the test is subjective and will depend on the circumstances of each case.