The right of distribution is the right to make available to the public the original or copies of a work by selling, renting, lending or in any other way.

Only distribution is done if it is present, making copies available to the public on a specific physical medium (paper, compact disc, video, ...).

In addition to the works excluded from intellectual property (art. 13 LPI) or that are of public domain (art. 41 LPI), the Intellectual property law It contemplates some cases in which works can be distributed without the authorization of the author or holder of the rights. Some of these exceptions are:
 

The legislation does not contemplate the full distribution of material protected for educational purposes, which is why teachers can not distribute copies of documents to the class without the authorization of the holder of the rights or the payment of a license to the entity of corresponding management

However, sections 3-5 of the32 article LPI details the cases in which teachers can take advantage of the right to illustration for teaching and research purposes:
 

• The teaching staffregulated education (university and non-university) taught in centers of the Spanish educational system and the staff ofUniversities and public bodies of scientific research they can copy, distribute and publicly communicate small fragments of works and isolated works of a plastic or photographic figurative nature, without any commercial purpose and to the extent necessary, provided that the requirements set out inart. 32.3.
   
• In the specific case ofUniversities and public research centers, parts of works (printed or likely to be printed) may also be reproduced, distributed and publicly communicated, including textbooks, university textbooks, or similar publications, with a Compulsory economic compensation, provided that the requirements ofart. 32.4.
   

More information

• Distribution is the act of making available to third parties the originals or copies of the work, in a tangible medium (sale, rental, loan ...).

• On the other hand, public communication is the act by which a plurality of people can access the work without prior distribution of physical copies to each one of them (speeches, recitals, audiovisual projection, broadcast by radio, public exhibition of works of art, inclusion of documents in web pages, sending of documents by electronic mail ...).