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Barwon Health Library Service: Copyright Information

Evidence for Excellence

Copyright Information

The Copyright Act 1968 (Commonwealth) provides the legislative framework for the creation, copying and communication of electronic and print material at Barwon Health. All Barwon Health staff and students must comply with the Act.

Copyright owners are entitled to take legal action against persons who infringe their copyright. A reproduction of material that is protected by copyright may be a copyright infringement.

Copyright Quick Answers

Copyright applies when:

  • you download or print material from a database or website
  • you scan or photocopy books, articles or other materials
  • you use extracts of others people in your own work, eg when writing a paper or giving a presentation

Just because the material is freely available, does not necessarily mean it is free to use.

  • If sharing electronic material such as articles always just use the article webpage url so avoid breaking copyright by 'copying' or 'reproducing' the material
  • Always read the terms and conditions first before downloading or sharing any text/images/videos from the internet.
  • Always seek permission to use any third party copyrighted material.
  • DON’T use any third party content that you have not received approval to use.

You must always acknowledge any copyright material that you use. The attribution must be clear and reasonably prominent

  • If the material has been sourced from another publication: the author(s), title and publication details of that publication and the page number the material appeared on must be noted
  • If the image has been sourced from a website: the URL for the image's website and the date the website was accessed must be noted.

Copyright - Quick Guide

Use of copyright material for research or study will not break copyright rules, provided that the use is ‘fair’.

You Can use copyright material:

  •  copy/scan/download for your personal research or study:
    • 10%, or 1 chapter, of a book; or
    • A whole journal article, or more than one article from that same issue if each article is for the same research
  • for your personal use if you follow the personal use provisions
  • material may be reproduced to create a suitably accessible format to assist a person with a disability (Fair dealing provisions still apply)
  • for criticism or review of copyrighted material
  • for use to give legal advice

    You Cannot:

  • reproduce or distribute copyright material without permission. this includes:
    • emailing material to others
    • distributing copies of documents
    • posting material on webpage
  • Use materials without reference of source
  • Share any document that you have requested the library provide to you.

Managing Copyright - More Information

Fair Dealing

  • Fair dealing provisions cover copying for (personal) research or study, criticism or review, reporting the news, parody or satire, and purposes relating to judicial proceedings.
  • Fair Dealing defines the amount of the copyright item you can use for your research or study. 

NOTE: Fair dealing provisions cannot be used to make multiple copies of items and distribute or communicate that material to others.

Linking:

  • This is not a copyright activity because you are not actually 'copying' or reproducing any material when you provide a link, you are simply providing a path to the material’s location.

This is done by supplying the URL link to the material, not the material itself.

Embedding:

  • Embedding is a type of linking that allows material to be displayed on your website without the URL being visible. This means that the viewer is able to access/view the material from its original online location without having to leave your webpage. This is commonly used for displaying online films, for example YouTube videos. It is done by copying the HTML code of the content and pasting it onto your webpage.

Further Information

Copyright Categories

There are 3 main copyright categories to consider when using or wanting to reproduce materials:

  • Material in the public domain: When material is in the public domain, it means the copyright has expired or the creator has dedicated it to the public domain so the material that isn’t covered by any copyright; you are able to use it freely in your documents or webpages with no restrictions.
  • Material under Creative Commons: Creative Commons licences allow for creators to clearly set the certain conditions on how others can use their material - https://creativecommons.org/licences/.
  • Material covered by copyright: You need to get permission from the author/creator to use this material.

Reminder: Using the images in the public domain and Creative Commons doesn’t require copyright permission or a fee, but you should always cite the source of the image and its owner.

 

Further Information

Australian Copyright Council's information sheets: 

          Research or Study

          Exceptions to Copyright 

          Fair Dealing: What Can I use without Permission 

          Internet: Copying & Downloading

          An Introduction to Copyright in Australia 

          Creative Commons Australia Information

If you require further information please contact the library on (03) 4215 0478

Information on copyright provided by the Library does not constitute legal advice