Copies may be run off initially in sections (7)
I believe the answer is:
parrots
'copies' is the definition.
(parrot can mean to copy or repeat)
'run off initially in sections' is the wordplay.
'initially' indicates taking the first letters.
'in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'sections' becomes 'parts' ('part' can be a synonym of 'section').
The first letters of 'run off' is 'ro'.
'ro' placed into 'parts' is 'PARROTS'.
'may be' is the link.
(Other definitions for parrots that I've seen before include "Brightly-coloured tropical birds" , "Tropical birds able to mimic sounds" , "Brightly colored tropical birds" , "Repeats" , "Imitates" .)