Copyright for teaching

Following copyright rules in teaching helps you stay compliant with copyright laws and policies, keeps academic standards high, and shows students how to do things the right way.

The course materials section includes descriptions of how some materials can be used in class.

Third party materials used in teaching must be attributed properly, under the moral rights provisions in the Copyright Act 1968. Even if something is free to use (in the public domain), it's still good practice to give credit to the original creator.

Under the Intellectual Property Policy, the University generally asserts ownership over all Intellectual Property including copyright in teaching materials created by staff members, in the course of or incidental to their employment.  

As such, releasing teaching materials created in the course of employment at the University under a Creative Commons or other licence, including through granting permission, requires authorisation from the University. Submit a permission request to licence University teaching materials.

The Copyright Compliance Procedure requires that third party copyright material such as book chapters, journal articles, films and music must only be provided to students via Course Readings. This is to ensure that copying limits, notices, and reporting requirements are met. Contact Ask Library to assist with locating required materials.

Incorporating resources for use in teaching materials such as presentations, worksheets and handouts should rely on at least one of the following.

Library Subscribed Materials

The Library has licences in place with over 120 vendors to provide staff and students with resources such as journals, data, ebooks, news, guides, audio and video recordings.

While there are distinct licence terms for each resource, they typically permit staff to access (view) and possibly copy (download) or communicate (share) materials for educational purposes. Check the specific terms or contact Ask Library for assistance. 

Use University-created materials

Creating your own materials ensures the University attains ownership as your employer. You can generally also reuse material created by another University staff member, unless they created it under a previous employer or it’s been commercially published.

Open Education Resources (OERs)

OERs consist of materials that are in the public domain or have been released under a Creative Commons or other open licence that permits some degree of use without purchase or permission. OER materials include textbooks, journals, courseware, software, datasets, images, music and video, or any item freely distributed for teachers to copy and adapt.

The Copyright Compliance Procedure prioritises the use of OERs for University activities where possible.

See the Open Education Resource Guide for information on how to find OERs by discipline and format.

Copyright Expired

Copyright durations can be broadly summarised as below, however there are exceptions depending on the type of material and other factors, such as the publication date.

For works: life of the author + 70 years.
For subject matter other than works: date made + 70 years.
For government material: date made + 50 years.

Most literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works if the author died before 1955.
Photographs and sound recordings made before 1955.

See the Attorney General’s Department Duration of Copyright table for specific durations by material type.

Linking or embedding

Linking or embedding online content means the source website is serving up the material rather than having to reproduce it locally. Embedding should only be employed if the third party site expressly permits it. YouTube, for example, provides specific HTML embed code to enable videos to be viewed elsewhere. Only legitimate, non-infringing material should be linked or embedded.

Performing material in class

The Copyright Act 1968 provides an exception that permits the performance or communication of material during educational instruction, so long as it is not conducted for profit. The exception covers playing films or sound recordings, reading out literary works, and performing a play or musical work.

The exception does not extend to copying the work, so performances of copyright material should be excluded from lecture recordings by pausing the recording unless otherwise permitted under some other scheme, such as the Screenrights licence for broadcast material. 

Commercial streaming services such as Spotify or Netflix cannot be used in class as their terms of use generally prohibit public screenings and preclude other legislated rights. However, Netflix does offer a limited documentary collection for educational screenings.

Assessment materials

The examination exception in the Copyright Act 1968 permits unlimited copying and communication of any type of material if it is used as part of an exam or assessment question or answer. It excludes practice tests that are not formally assessed. 

Note that licence terms may override legislated rights and exceptions for some resources, such as library subscribed materials. 

Disability Access

The disability exceptions permit persons with a disability and organisations assisting persons with a disability to use material in certain circumstances. See the Australian Copyright Council Disability Access & Copyright Fact Sheet for more information.

Material reproduced under this exception must include the following attribution: Copied under the Copyright Act s.113E/F

Contact Access and Inclusion for further assistance.

Permissions 

If the intended use of a work doesn’t fall within one of the above schemes, consider obtaining permission. Copyright © notices should identify the rights holder, but if it’s unclear contact the publisher or author.

For texts, submit requests through CCC Marketplace  if possible, or look for a ‘permission and clearances’ link or similar on online articles.

Consider the following wording for informal requests:

Can you kindly grant permission to Adelaide University for a worldwide, perpetual, non-exclusive licence to copy and communicate the following item for the purpose of including it in teaching and learning materials.

Use the following wording for material authored by a student:

Can you kindly grant permission to Adelaide University for a worldwide, perpetual, non-exclusive licence to copy and communicate the following/attached item for the purpose of including it in University teaching and learning materials for course [course code, course title]. It will be de-identified and will not be attributed to preserve anonymity.

Collecting Society Licences

The University has agreements in place with several copyright collecting societies covering the use of text, images, TV and radio material, and music. See the Further Resources page for details.