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Copyright: Teaching Staff

Using copyright material in the classroom and online

In Australia, copyright law allows educators to use third party copyright material in certain ways for educational purposes without having to seek permission from the copyright owner. The use of third party copyright material for educational purposes is permitted through special Statutory and Voluntary Education licenses and Exceptions within the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth.)

Different education licenses and exceptions apply depending on how the material is being used, and whether you are using:

  • Text works (Statutory license)
  • Artistic works (Statutory license)
  • Broadcasts (including webcasts of broadcasts) (Statutory license)
  • Music and sound recordings (Voluntary license)
  • Recorded video works (Flexible dealing and / or s 28 of the Act)

There are also a number of exceptions that allow University staff to reproduce material in accessible formats to assist students and staff with disabilities (this is the only provision of Fair dealing which may be performed on another person's behalf.)

Statutory License

The educational statutory license allows the University to copy and communicate works (except for computer programs) and television and radio broadcasts for educational purposes.

All copying and communicating made under the statutory license must include a section 113P warning notice.

Textual and Artistic Works:

Administered by the Copyright Agency Academics can use s 113P to communicate and copy textual and artistic works (including sheet music for class use) following these rules:

  • Distribute a “reasonable portion” of a separately published literary or dramatic work in hard copy, including excerpts of separately published sheet music, as long as "the amount of the work copied or communicated does not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the owner of the copyright" (the Act s 113P(1)(d))

  • Perform literary and dramatic works within class

  • Perform musical works within class

  • Include excerpts of text in lecture presentations

  • Lecture capture excerpts of text

Note: The University must comply with the requirements set out by the Act section 113Q Remuneration notices.

Broadcasts

Administered by Screenrights Australia, Copyright broadcasts may be used in an educational setting as per s 113P

Academics can:

  • Copy and communicate any TV or radio broadcast in class or in the LMS (along with the Section 113P Copyright Notice attached)
  • Access Library Resources TVNews and EduTV which are based on the Screenrights Agreement (these programmes do not require a Section 113P Copyright Notice)

The Screenrights Australia Agreement does not cover:

  • Netflix and other streaming services
  • Commercial and borrowed DVDs and Blu-ray
  • YouTube or Vimeo and other video services
  • If you require advice regarding using Copyright materials including videos or other audio-visual material contact your Librarian

Note: The University must comply with the requirements set out by the Act section 113Q Remuneration notices.

Audio-Visual Materials

As per the Act s 28 recorded film and music may be "performed" (i.e. played) in class as long as it is for educational purposes, and only for the benefit of enrolled students:

"The performance shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed not to be a performance in public if the audience is limited to persons who are taking part in the instruction or are otherwise directly connected with the place where the instruction is given" (s 28(1)(b)

Note: This only relates to in-person performances, not online delivery (see below for Online delivery options.)

Online

The Statutory Education license specifically allows for the "Communication" of Copyright content, which allows for a limited "reasonable portion" of Copyright Works to be copied from materials owned (by the University, or where an Academic owns a legitimate copy), or publicly Broadcast to be delivered online (see the Copying limits section below.)

In order to manage our Copyright compliance, all Unit Readings should be uploaded for Students via the Reading List system (see ECU's policy on Copyright -- Online high-use collection (AD051)).

There is no provision for recorded Audio-Visual materials, however, Flexible Dealing (the Act s 200AB) may be used to deliver materials online as a "special case" for "educational instruction." This means that whilst A/V materials may not be copied online in bulk, as an individual, "special case" for "instruction" (say, making an on-campus class available online for distance students), the online space could be an extension of the in-person delivery.

Note: A good rule of thumb in using Flexible dealing in this case, would be to follow the same guidelines as the Statutory Education license, and to attempt to limit public access. Only upload recordings to our password-protected Learning Management System (LMS), and only provide access to the material as a streaming copy (not for download) over a limited time.

Copying limits

There are no strict limits to the amount copied, only that "the amount of the work copied or communicated does not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the owner of the copyright" (the Act sub-s 113P(1)(d)). A good rule of thumb may be to limit copies as a "reasonable portion" (the Act s 40(5)), unless "the work cannot be obtained within a reasonable time at an ordinary commercial price" (where it is advised Libraries may provide more of a Work -- see the Act s 49(5)(b)).

Note: Where more than ~10% of a Work is copied, the "effect of the dealing upon the potential market for, or value of, the work or adaptation" should be considered (the Act s 40(2)(d)). This means more than ~10% of a Work may be copied on short notice (or where it cannot be purchased for "an ordinary commercial price," but this should not be relied upon over time, if not to (again) "unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the owner of the copyright" (the Act sub-s 113P(1)(d)).

These limits apply across the University, meaning if one unit has a chapter from a book on Reading List, no other unit can use any chapter from that same book at the same time. Chapters may be cycled through teaching weeks as required, as long as this use does not unfairly prejudice the commercial interests of the Copyright holder. Where publications are heavily used, these should be identified as "Core" readings for students to purchase, and for the Library to purchase copies and / or user licenses for electronic copies.

Where materials are licensed electronically by the University (e.g. Article Databases and eBooks) these links do not count against copying limits, and may be used in addition to copies of print materials.

Voluntary Licenses

Under section 113T of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth.) Institutions may enter into Voluntary licenses with collecting societies. Edith Cowan University (through Universities Australia) has a Voluntary license for Music with the Australasian Performing Right Association Limited (APRA) and the Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society Limited (AMCOS).

Music License

Under this Music license, we can:

  • Copy music or sound recordings for educational purposes
  • Copy sheet music for Educational purposes (both in print, and on a password-protected LMS)
  • Perform music in class
  • Perform music in public at university-run events (as long as tickets are under $40)
  • Performances may be shared on social media (however Take down notices must be followed)
  • Play music in the workplace, and on hold

The following requires permission from the Copyright owner:

  • Re-arranging music
  • Performances of "Grand Rights Works" in their entirety requires permission

All copies must be made from legitimate sources.

Flexible Dealing and Section 28

Section 28

Section 28 of the Act relates to the "Performance and communication of works or other subject‑matter in the course of educational instruction," which allows for the communication of a Work (or Subject matter other than a Work) for the purposes of education, as long as the instruction is not being given for profit.

You might think of this as the "show and tell" provision, where Academics can make a greater "interim copy" of the Work (or Subject Matter Other than a Work) (which may be a whole musical Work, or a whole playscript, etc. which would otherwise be greater than the suggested 10%), as long as the Performance and Communication of the work is solely for educational purposes and not for any non-Academic or Student audiences.

These "interim copies" can be produced physically, or electronically. Where produced physically, they may only be distributed in class, and retrieved at the end of the session, or where produced electronically, they may be held on the LMS for a time period not exceeding the minimum required for the educational activity (i.e. the week of this in-class performance.)

ECU's Tier 2 Voluntary license with APRA/AMCOS specifies this more general advice from s 28 in particular for musical scores, and so should be cited in this use.

Note that where a Statutory license or a Voluntary license intersects section 28, the Statutory or Voluntary license takes precedence (with all requirements for record keeping and equitable remuneration.)

Flexible Dealing

Section 200AB or "Flexible dealing" relates to the "Use of Works and other Subject‑matter for certain purposes." This allows Educational institutions (and Libraries and Archives) to use Copyright materials for the general running of their services, where no other Exemption exists, and the use meets these criteria (the Act s 200AB(1)):

(a)  the circumstances of the use (including those described in paragraphs (b), (c) and (d)) amount to a special case;

(b)  the use is covered by subsection (2) or (3) (3: Use by body administering educational institution, for instruction);

(c)  the use does not conflict with a normal exploitation of the work or other subject‑matter;

(d)  the use does not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the owner of the copyright.

This is not a catch-all, however, and each use must meet these criteria on an individual basis.

If you require advice regarding using Section 200AB in classes, contact your Librarian

Linking and Embedding

Whilst copying digital media is relatively easy, most copyright licenses do not permit this use of their material. Of course, there are a number of exemptions to these restrictions, such as the mechanical reproductions required by computer systems, and some format- and time-shifting, however these are limited uses (even when not curtailed by DRM).

This means that when using digital materials, copying and format-shifting many digital works is curtailed in ways Australia's Copyright Act 1968 (Cth.) would otherwise allow for. A print book may be able to have sections copied to a Learning Management System (LMS) like Blackboard, however, the license of an eBook may not allow for that. Format-shifting a YouTube video to an offline file for use in a presentation may also be a breech of the license agreement.

Given the complexities of differing licensing agreements, it is preferable to take advantage of the online nature of the Web as a platform, and instead of creating copies of a digital work, either link to the webpage where it is hosted, or embed the media in your work. "Embed" in this instance, means to use the embed code provided by sites like YouTube, or to use code like Panopto's <iframe> to provide a "window" that points to the host, without copying the material. This gives the appearance of the material being immediately present, without having to host it ourselves.

Note: By embedding material, if the host stops providing the content, the "window" will be broken and Students will not be able to access the material. This is still preferable to Copyright Infringement. If offline copies are required, please contact your Librarian to source the Work.

By embedding the Work, you are covered though the "Safe harbours" provision of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth.) Part V Division 2AA, though if you are notified of a link that breeches Copyright, you must immediately remove the link / embed code (within 1-2 days of notice).

Be careful to also follow general Copyright concerns such as public performance of the material, and whether it is use of a "reasonable" portion of the work, used under an appropriate Fair Dealing exemption.

Ebooks

Digital materials like eBooks, streaming music and film, and particularly software, often come with different rights than if you had purchased a physical copy of the same work of media. It is important to understand were your content comes from, and how you access it, as this can affect how you can use it in a class setting.

Physical media like DVDs and print books come with a "First sale doctrine" which grants you certain rights over that particular copy of the material, such as being able to resell it, and present it in class. Digital media is often Licensed instead of sold to you, however, which means your rights are different, and are restricted under the Terms of Service. This means a Netflix film License may specifically preclude a public screening (or Lecture screening.)

With digital and streaming media, you are generally hiring a service, rather than purchasing the material outright. This service may be discontinued, or in extreme cases, material you had downloaded to a device, remotely deleted.

Thus it is important to be aware of the licensing agreements you agree to access and use material under.

For example, our Library eBooks are licensed for a limited number of users at a time, for limited loan periods, as defined by the Publishers who sell us access.

User Licenses

Publishers control the number of simultaneous users (or in some cases, a limited number of total users over the item's lifetime), and Libraries may only purchase packages of these licenses. The most common user license packages are:

  • 1 User
  • 3 Users
  • Unlimited Users
  • x Uses (limited)

Libraries may purchase a combination of these packages for prices set by the Publisher.

This means Library eBooks are not necessarily available for simultaneous use by large numbers of students.

These Publisher Licenses also restrict the manners in which the content can be re-used, including copying select chapters of materials for student use (as otherwise permitted under Fair Dealing provisions.)