Library Guides: Copyright: Overview

Did you know that using some else's work without their permission is against the law? Copyright Act, 1968 (Cth).

For more information see the Students and Copyright and the Copyright for Schools information sheets at the Official Guide to Copyright Issues for Australian Schools at Smartcopying.

Don't forget to cite and reference your sources. For help see the Junior School or Senior School referencing guides, and / or CiteMaker.

Resource Key

When accessing content use the numbers below to guide you:

LEVEL

Brief, basic information laid out in an easy-to-read format. May use informal language. (Includes most news articles)

LEVEL

Provides additional background information and further reading. Introduces some subject-specific language.

LEVEL

Lengthy, detailed information. Frequently uses technical/subject-specific language. (Includes most analytical articles)

Quick Links

Question: The School has an Education Licence so does this mean I doesn’t have to worry about Copyright?

Answer: The School does have an Education Licence, and while this gives us extra rights there are still limits to what we can and can't do. See the What can you copy and use section of this guide for more details. Irrespective, even if the work is in the freely available in the public domain, you still need to cite and reference your sources.

Copyright | Overview: Keywords

Click on the terms to access a simple definition from the Australian SmartCopy glossary or Lexico (the online Oxford dictionary) or LAW.COM legal terms and definitions.

Author, Copyright, Assignment, Creative Commons, Fair dealing, Fair use (with example) Infringement, Intellectual property, Licence, Moral rights, Open Education Resources (OER) Plagarism, Public domain, Reasonable portion, Royalties, Statutory Broadcast Licence, Statutory text and artistic works licence, Works.

Copyright | Overview: Basic definitions

Copyright, Creative Commons and Public Domain are a few terms you will need to understand as each comes with different legal obligations. Often, but not always, you will see a icon that indicates what type of licence is being used. This lets you know what you can and can't do.

Licences
A licence [Australian spelling] or license [US spelling], is a legally binding agreement between two or more parties. A licence agreement outlines what you can and can't do.
For Australian schools "Statutory Licences are licence schemes created under the Australian Copyright Act for the educational use of copyright material. The two statutory licence schemes are the Statutory Broadcast Licence and the Statutory Text and Artistic Licence." (SmartCopying, n.d.)

Copyright
Under Copyright ALL the creator's rights are reserved.
While the letter C in a circle is the symbol that is often used to indicate a work is protected by Copyright, ALL WORK IS AUTOMATICALLY covered by Copyright.
Creative Commons
Under Creative Commons SOME of the creator's rights are reserved.
Creative Commons is a license that is applied to a work that is protected by copyright. It's not separate from copyright. There are several Creative Commons licences and they each give you specific information about what you can and can't do with the work.
Two letter Cs in a circle is the symbol that is often used to indicate a work is protected by a Creative Commons licence.
Public Domain
Under Public Domain NONE the creator's rights are reserved.
"The public domain consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable." (Wikipedia, n.d.)
The letter C in a circle with a diagonal line is the symbol that is often used to indicate a work is in the public domain.
Open Access
Open Access licences are incresingly used in academic publishing. Under an Open Access licence: “Open means anyone can freely access, use, modify, and share for any purpose (subject, at most, to requirements that preserve provenance and openness).” (Open Knowledge Foundation, n.d.)
An open orange padlock is the symbol used to show the work comes with an Open Access licence.
In the Kerferd Library A to Z database list you can filter the results to show the Open Access content. CLICK HERE to see the Open Access content.

Copyright | Overview: COVID-19 and Copyright in Australian schools

COVID-19 and the move to online learning has had a big impact on Australian schools. To provide clarity for teachers the National Copyright Unit (NCU) has published the following information on their SmartCopy web site.

Virtual End-of-Year School Events (SmartCopying, 2020, September 25)
"Schools have been dealing with unprecedented challenges during the 2020 school year due to COVID-19. Many schools will be holding their end of year events in a virtual format due to social distancing requirements... This information sheet explains how schools can use music in their virtual end-of-year school events (eg. school discos, formals, graduation ceremonies, assemblies or drama, dance or music performances). Schools can make and use sound recordings under both the School Event Licence and a gratis interim music licence, which is in effect until 31 December 2020." (SmartCopying, 2020, September 25)
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"The National Copyright Unit (NCU) is a specialist copyright team responsible for copyright policy and administration for Australian schools and TAFE. It advises and supports the Copyright Advisory Group (CAG), an advisory group of the Education Council. CAG members include Federal, State and Territory Departments of Education, all Catholic Education Offices, the Independent Schools Council of Australia". (SmartCopying, n.d.)
Storytime agreement for schools (SmartCopying, 2020, July 31)
"For the duration of the pandemic, virtual storytimes will be sanctioned by [an industry agreement between the Australian Publishers Association (APA), the Australian Society of Authors (ASA) and the National Copyright Unit (NCU)]. This will enable teachers to read stories to children as part of teaching activities, and also if teachers wish to read stories to provide additional connection with their classes at this time, such as hosting a virtual storytime for students and their families." (SmartCopying, 2020, July 31)
Please note conditions apply. Read this SmartCopying press release for details.
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"The National Copyright Unit (NCU) is a specialist copyright team responsible for copyright policy and administration for Australian schools and TAFE. It advises and supports the Copyright Advisory Group (CAG), an advisory group of the Education Council. CAG members include Federal, State and Territory Departments of Education, all Catholic Education Offices, the Independent Schools Council of Australia". (SmartCopying, n.d.)
Remote & Online Learning During the COVID-19 Outbreak (SmartCopying, 2020, June 1)
"Please note the advice in this information sheet is in response to the COVID-19 crisis only. Once normal teaching has resumed at the end of the COVID-19 crisis, schools should disable access materials made available to students and delete copies made to support student learning during COVID from digital teaching environments and other online platforms. Further advice will be provided about this at that time." (SmartCopying, 2020, June 1)
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"The National Copyright Unit (NCU) is a specialist copyright team responsible for copyright policy and administration for Australian schools and TAFE. It advises and supports the Copyright Advisory Group (CAG), an advisory group of the Education Council. CAG members include Federal, State and Territory Departments of Education, all Catholic Education Offices, the Independent Schools Council of Australia". (SmartCopying, n.d.)

Copyright | Overview: Key SmartCopy guidelines

Use the following SmartCopying resources to gain a basic information of Copyright in Australia, as well as information about what you can and can't do. This information comes from the National Copyright Guidelines. For more information see also the Australian Copyright Council eBooks located under the Bookshelf section of this guide.

What is copyright? (SmartCopying, n.d.)
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"The National Copyright Unit (NCU) is a specialist copyright team responsible for copyright policy and administration for Australian schools and TAFE. It advises and supports the Copyright Advisory Group (CAG), an advisory group of the Education Council. CAG members include Federal, State and Territory Departments of Education, all Catholic Education Offices, the Independent Schools Council of Australia". (SmartCopying, n.d.)
What is protected? (SmartCopying, n.d.)
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"The National Copyright Unit (NCU) is a specialist copyright team responsible for copyright policy and administration for Australian schools and TAFE. It advises and supports the Copyright Advisory Group (CAG), an advisory group of the Education Council. CAG members include Federal, State and Territory Departments of Education, all Catholic Education Offices, the Independent Schools Council of Australia". (SmartCopying, n.d.)
Who owns copyright? (SmartCopying, n.d.)
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"The National Copyright Unit (NCU) is a specialist copyright team responsible for copyright policy and administration for Australian schools and TAFE. It advises and supports the Copyright Advisory Group (CAG), an advisory group of the Education Council. CAG members include Federal, State and Territory Departments of Education, all Catholic Education Offices, the Independent Schools Council of Australia". (SmartCopying, n.d.)
Some exceptions to the general rule of copyright ownership (SmartCopying, n.d.)
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"The National Copyright Unit (NCU) is a specialist copyright team responsible for copyright policy and administration for Australian schools and TAFE. It advises and supports the Copyright Advisory Group (CAG), an advisory group of the Education Council. CAG members include Federal, State and Territory Departments of Education, all Catholic Education Offices, the Independent Schools Council of Australia". (SmartCopying, n.d.)
How long does Copyright last? (SmartCopying, n.d.)
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"The National Copyright Unit (NCU) is a specialist copyright team responsible for copyright policy and administration for Australian schools and TAFE. It advises and supports the Copyright Advisory Group (CAG), an advisory group of the Education Council. CAG members include Federal, State and Territory Departments of Education, all Catholic Education Offices, the Independent Schools Council of Australia". (SmartCopying, n.d.)
What are the rights of a copyright owner? (SmartCopying, n.d.)
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"The National Copyright Unit (NCU) is a specialist copyright team responsible for copyright policy and administration for Australian schools and TAFE. It advises and supports the Copyright Advisory Group (CAG), an advisory group of the Education Council. CAG members include Federal, State and Territory Departments of Education, all Catholic Education Offices, the Independent Schools Council of Australia". (SmartCopying, n.d.)
How is copyright infringed? Smartcopying, n.d.)
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"The National Copyright Unit (NCU) is a specialist copyright team responsible for copyright policy and administration for Australian schools and TAFE. It advises and supports the Copyright Advisory Group (CAG), an advisory group of the Education Council. CAG members include Federal, State and Territory Departments of Education, all Catholic Education Offices, the Independent Schools Council of Australia". (SmartCopying, n.d.)
Copyright exceptions (SmartCopying, n.d.)
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"The National Copyright Unit (NCU) is a specialist copyright team responsible for copyright policy and administration for Australian schools and TAFE. It advises and supports the Copyright Advisory Group (CAG), an advisory group of the Education Council. CAG members include Federal, State and Territory Departments of Education, all Catholic Education Offices, the Independent Schools Council of Australia". (SmartCopying, n.d.)
Liability of schools and individuals for copyright infringement (SmartCopying, n.d.)
Gives examples of who is liable for copyright infringement.
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"The National Copyright Unit (NCU) is a specialist copyright team responsible for copyright policy and administration for Australian schools and TAFE. It advises and supports the Copyright Advisory Group (CAG), an advisory group of the Education Council. CAG members include Federal, State and Territory Departments of Education, all Catholic Education Offices, the Independent Schools Council of Australia". (SmartCopying, n.d.)

Copying for Exams: What am I Allowed to do (SmartCopying, n.d.)
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"The National Copyright Unit (NCU) is a specialist copyright team responsible for copyright policy and administration for Australian schools and TAFE. It advises and supports the Copyright Advisory Group (CAG), an advisory group of the Education Council. CAG members include Federal, State and Territory Departments of Education, all Catholic Education Offices, the Independent Schools Council of Australia". (SmartCopying, n.d.)
Copying Sheet Music in Schools (SmartCopying, n.d.)
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"The National Copyright Unit (NCU) is a specialist copyright team responsible for copyright policy and administration for Australian schools and TAFE. It advises and supports the Copyright Advisory Group (CAG), an advisory group of the Education Council. CAG members include Federal, State and Territory Departments of Education, all Catholic Education Offices, the Independent Schools Council of Australia". (SmartCopying, n.d.)
Playing Films, Television and Radio in Schools (SmartCopying, n.d.)
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"The National Copyright Unit (NCU) is a specialist copyright team responsible for copyright policy and administration for Australian schools and TAFE. It advises and supports the Copyright Advisory Group (CAG), an advisory group of the Education Council. CAG members include Federal, State and Territory Departments of Education, all Catholic Education Offices, the Independent Schools Council of Australia". (SmartCopying, n.d.)
Using YouTube (SmartCopy, n.d.)
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"The National Copyright Unit (NCU) is a specialist copyright team responsible for copyright policy and administration for Australian schools and TAFE. It advises and supports the Copyright Advisory Group (CAG), an advisory group of the Education Council. CAG members include Federal, State and Territory Departments of Education, all Catholic Education Offices, the Independent Schools Council of Australia". (SmartCopying, n.d.)

Copyright | Overview: Videos

To view these video on campus remember to first login to your school Google account using your mConnect username and password. Click here for more help on using YouTube on campus.