Copyright at UTS

UTS policies require that staff comply with all relevant legislation when undertaking their duties at UTS. Under Australian Copyright legislation and commercial content licences, UTS staff can use legitimate amounts and types of copyright content for teaching purposes.

These requirements specify legitimate amounts and types of content that can be used for teaching purposes, and how to provide access to copyright content within and outside UTS.

The amount of copyright content you can use for teaching purposes depends on a number of factors, including the type of content you’re using.

Types of copyright content include:

• Literature (e.g. books, plays, scripts, anthologies, periodical publications)
• Artistic works (e.g. maps, cartoons, paintings, photos, sculptures)
• Video (e.g. TV broadcasts, online videos, film, DVDs)
• Audio (e.g. radio broadcasts, sound recordings, music, podcasts)
• Software (e.g. computer software, computer programs, computer databases)
• Government legal documents (e.g. legislation and rules, court judgements and findings)
• Web – web-based content falls back into the above content types.
• Open educational resources (OER) — also falls back into the above content types, but the OER license attached to specific OER material should specify how a user can use parts or all of the content.

UTS Library’s Manage Your Content – Use Content online tool shows you compliance requirements according to each of the types above, the amounts you can use, providing access to content, and ensuring such content is appropriately acknowledged (and in certain cases includes a specific notice).

Under copyright licences and commercial terms of agreement, only UTS students, UTS staff and certain approved users (e.g. Insearch staff and students) can access copyright content provided for teaching purposes at UTS. This includes all copyright content made available for any teaching purpose within UTS, including via Canvas/UTS Online, email, photocopier, scanner, printer, etc.

Exceptions include: certain open educational resources (OER) and open access (OA) materials; where permission of the copyright owner or licensee has been given to use the content in other ways; and where the content is no longer under copyright (rules apply, see Australian Government Duration of Copyright).

The Manage Your Content – Use Content (online tool) shows the relevant compliance requirements, which includes conditions for distributing or making the content accessible.

These conditions vary according to certain content types, but in general include:

• Use password protection – make the teaching material available on a UTS approved secure system (password protected, such as Canvas), and ensure the material contains the permitted amounts of copyright material.
• Attach a copyright notice – for certain content (as indicated in Manage Your Content – Use Content) use a Copyright Notice (copying for teaching purposes) when reproducing or communicating the copied material; using the Library’s Reading Lists system will ensure this copyright compliance is done for you.
• Share content only with the people who need it – don’t reproduce or distribute the material to any other person for a purpose outside of teaching an educational course at UTS, unless you have permission to do so.

Note that some copyright content cannot be copied, downloaded, uploaded or stored on UTS systems without express permission of the copyright owner, or unless for legislated circumstances such as special access provisions. This can include some films, DVDs and software. For further information see the Manage Your Content-Use Content (online tool), Using Copyright Video Materials for Educational Purposes, or contact the UTS Copyright Officer.

The main UTS copyright licences and commercial terms of agreement (covering most copyright content made available within UTS) will not cover materials that are created for use beyond UTS or are accessible to anyone who is not a UTS student or staff member.

This includes making materials available for access to non UTS-only audiences via MOOCs, You Tube, social media, iTunes, any websites or other publicly accessible means.

If creating materials for such access or publication, these are some ways to ensure that you are not infringing on copyright:

• Original material that you have created
• Creative Commons or similar licenced material
• OERs or open access material
• Out of copyright material (see Australian Government Duration of Copyright)
• Material you have permission from the copyright owner or licensee to include
• Or, seek permission from copyright owners to use specific copyright material