‘Can I use this?’ Q&A on common copyright concerns
In Australia and other jurisdictions, copyright law allows the use of copyright material in particular ways for educational purposes, but the proliferation of online resources raises some challenges about copyright and the use of resources in education.
Ian Drummond (Library Services Manager and Copyright Officer) and Max Gallo (Quality Systems & Audit Manager) recently shared strategies and resources that can assist you in making informed decisions around copyright.
Summarised from their talk are these key principles you can apply for the use of copyrighted material in education:
- There are many grey areas in copyright. We should all be familiar with the 10% rule or one chapter rule as a general guide to how much we can reasonably take from a source for reuse. But when we lack clear answers, everyone needs to take a common sense approach to managing risk.
- Copyright is automatic. It isn’t applied after a label is slapped onto it. When you make something, you have an automatic and exclusive right to grant usage privileges, reproduce, communicate/ share and perform.
- You need to be equipped to make informed decisions on copyright. Ask a few common sense questions. Does this website actually hold copyright? For example, when looking at a YouTube video, is this channel the original creator or owner of the copyright?
- Familiarise yourself with these Australian Copyright Council fact sheets.
- Use Navitas references like the NPI Copyright Information website, Decision-Making Flowcharts, or their short Fact Sheet on Copying for Educational Purposes.
- If you want a more active way to learn about copyright quickly, take the Copyright module in the QRM Learning site. The site is synchronised with your Navitas login; when you first click on the link it will send a request to access to QRM who manages the licenses. Once access is granted you can access it at anytime: QRM_Learning – Home
Watch their full session below:
Click through the slide deck:
If you have a scenario or question about copyright, get in touch with Max on Yammer through the Copyright group.