Copyright: FAQ

Do I have to attribute my own photos?

You become the copyright owner of any work that you create, including photos you take or drawings you produce. While under the copyright law you do no need to provide an attribution, if you are using the photo in an assignment it is a good idea to indicate that the work is your own.

 

How much can I copy?

Under the Education Licence students are allowed to make copies of works to use for study or research.

The amount you are allowed to copy is described as a 'reasonable portion'. This is taken to mean:

• One article from a periodical or more than one article if they are on the same subject
• For a work in hard copy (e.g a book) 10% of the pages or 1 chapter
• For a work in electronic form (eg website page) 10% of the pages or 1 chapter
• The whole of a work that has not been separately published or is not commercially available within a reasonable time at an ordinary commercial price.

See: Smartcopying

See: Copyright

 

Can the library send me a digital version of a book?

The library may copy published works (e.g. text from books or journals, musical or artistic works) for a person undertaking research or study but this must be based on written requests and include a declaration the person does indeed want the copied material for research or study. The library is required to keep records. The material can be supplied electronically via email.

The amount allowed to be copied and communicated is called a 'reasonable portion', details can be seen in the answer above.

See Australian Libraries Copyright Committee

 

Is everything on the internet freely available to use?

This highlights a common misunderstanding about what is meant by ‘public domain’ when referring to copyright work. A work will fall into the public domain once copyright expires, this will typically be many years after the author’s death. While work published on the Internet may be publicly accessible, it is certainly not in the public domain and does not mean its freely available for all to use.

 

How long does copyright last for?

The length of time copyright lasts for can vary. The Copyright Act 1968 contains detailed information about the length of copyright. However in general:

If you can identify the creator of the work: copyright lasts for the duration of the creator’s life plus 70 years.
If you cannot identify the creator of the work: copyright lasts for 70 years from the end of year of publication or creation date.

Once copyright has expired, material enters the Public Domain and can be used by anybody for any purpose.

Here is some copyright information for staff who are now teaching online.

Staff Portal: Copyright for remote delivery

Copyright: Online Teaching and Covid19

How many book chapters can I have on Moodle at once?

Melbourne Polytechnic is covered by an educational licence which allows certain permissions. 

Teachers can scan and upload content to Moodle using the following guidelines:

• Can only be a reasonable portion of a text, 10% or one chapter.
• Must include a reference and which copyright exemption was used to upload the document.
• Must be on a secure learning management system.
• Must be for study or research
• Once a resource is no longer needed it is removed from the platform.
• Must be allowed to distribute under the Education licence exemption to the copyright act.

A teacher can scan and upload more than a ‘reasonable portion’ or a whole work if the work (eg book):

• is not available to purchase  within a reasonable time (6 months for a textbook and 30 days for other print material); or
• is out of copyright

See Copyright and Online Teaching

See Smartcopy

 

Can I embed a YouTube video on Moodle?

When a video is posted on YouTube the original creator retains ownership, but certain rights are granted to YouTube and other users. 

Other users are allowed to access the content through the service (YouTube) and to use that content only as enabled by a feature of the service (such as video playback or embeds).

You are allowed to embed Youtube videos in Moodle. You are not allowed to download a YouTube video and then put a copy on Moodle.

Before you embed a video on Moodle:

• Ensure the video you wish to use is from the original source i.e. copyright owner or publisher
• Ensure the site or video grants permission to ‘share’ or ‘embed’
• Check the sites licensing conditions

See YouTube Terms of Service

 

Do I need copyright permission to send my students a list of website?

Teachers are allowed to email links to online articles and resources as you are not copying the content. You are directing the students to find the resource for themselves and you do not require a licence or permission to do this. However, you must always add the disclaimer statement advising students they will be redirected to another website.

In line with the Copyright Act teachers are not allowed to reproduce and share content that is under copyright. 

Staff Portal: Linking from Melbourne Polytechnic Websites to Third Party Websites

See: Smartcopying

 

Do I have to attribute my own photos?

Melbourne Polytechnic is the copyright holder for original material created by staff. Images displayed online or in print will need a copyright notice placed near them.

e.g © Melbourne Polytechnic [YEAR]

 

How much can you copy?

Teachers at Melbourne Polytechnic are covered under the same Education Licence as students and are allowed to make copies of works to use for study or research.

The amount you are allowed to copy is described as a 'reasonable portion'. This is taken to mean:

• One article from a periodical or more than one article if they are on the same subject
• For a work in hard copy (e.g a book) 10% of the pages or 1 chapter
• For a work in electronic form (eg website page) 10% of the pages or 1 chapter
• The whole of a work that has not been separately published or is not commercially available within a reasonable time at an ordinary commercial price.

See: Smartcopying

See: Copyright