Copyright

Copyright law gives the owner of text, photos, paintings, films and audio/visual recordings the rights to control reproduction, publication, communication, performance and adaptation of their work. Copyright is an important component of the creative-innovation process as it promotes new ideas through giving authors and creators a set of legal rights in relation to how their work may be used, acknowledged, and rewarded.

• Copyright Responsibilities at Victoria University
• eReserve at Victoria University
• Providing Textbook Resources
• Using Other Supplementary Materials
• Abiding by Copyright Regulations When Using Images
• A Guide to Creative Commons Licences
• Helpful Copyright Links

It is vital to note that only copyright free materials such as creative commons licensed materials, OER or VU owned materials are uploaded. Check copyright terms and conditions before uploading anything, especially PDF files retrieved from VU licensed databases as there is an increased risk of copyright infringements occurring. For further support and information on your copyright responsibilities read through the Copyright for teaching at VU Library Help Guide.

Copyright Responsibilities at Victoria University

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At Victoria University, as part of the Copyright Act (1968), we have Statutory Licences that allow staff members to use copyright material for certain educational purposes. These compulsory licenses are issued through Federal Government collecting agencies and are subject to the payment of an annual fee by VU. We likewise have individual licences with major publishers allowing teaching staff to use certain copyrighted material on the Library’s catalogue, particularly journal articles and ebooks. Exceptions for copyright material for teaching apply to all aspects of the teaching process, including material placed on Learning Management Systems such as VU Collaborate.

For any questions, or for further information regarding your responsibilities with Copyright and course materials, please contact the Copyright Officer on 9919 5958 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

eReserve at Victoria University

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 eReserve is the system nominated by VU for managing copyright of third party material (ie material which you have not written) within the Learning Management System to manage readings.

Use the Readings / eReserve tool to store, review, organise and share student readings for your unit and comply with copyright requirements. This provides students with a consistent and organised interface for unit readings. Resource linking, or “peppering”, helps place material at the most relevant point for the student within the content areas of the unit space.

You can add links to electronic books, book chapters, or electronic journal articles from the VU library databases to eReserve. Where a chapter, book extract or journal article is not available electronically, Library staff can scan and load the PDF into Readings (subject to copyright regulations). If the book is available only in print in our reserve area, a link is made to refer students to the book location.

Academic staff begin the process by building the reading list from within the VU Collaborate unit space; library staff will then finalise any readings that require action such as copying a requested chapter or obtaining an article.

Providing Textbook Resources

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Most textbook publishers will offer to provide supplementary materials to support your teaching and classroom presentations. It is important to be aware that these offers do not automatically give you permission to use the material on VU Collaborate.

These materials are all covered by copyright, which is usually owned by the publisher. These may include:

• slides
• illustrations
• videos
• questions/questionnaires/quizzes
• case studies

Unless the textbook is an Open Access resource, you must seek written permission from the publisher to put this material onto VU Collaborate.

If you are using the material in conjunction with their textbook and you provide acknowledgement, most publishers will give permission for these items to be used. Some publishers will provide permission for a standard 12 months via a simple email, if you provide textbook details, class code and student numbers. Some publishers will provide a formal signed agreement for the use of their material.

Note that you will need specific permission from the publisher to customize or adapt items (e.g. a set of PPT slides).

Using Other Supplementary Materials

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You need to seek permission for any materials, such as videos, quizzes or questionnaires which come with journal articles found in VU’s Library databases as these materials are also covered by the publishers’ rights. When asking the publisher for permission, always provide as much information as you can about how you plan to use the materials. This will expedite your request.

Abiding by Copyright Regulations When Using Images

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When using images, it is vital to ensure you are using copyright free materials. Copyright free materials can be retrieved via the Creative Commons website. However, other sources such as Unsplash and PixaBay can also prove to be useful tools, providing the content creator has shared and uploaded their works to these websites. When using any images within VU Collaborate, images must be followed by a reference naming the creator (if available) and website. When using websites such as Unsplash or PixaBay, the creator attribution is usually provided - you can simply copy and paste this attribution into your space. See below for an example.

Open source: Unsplash by Vittorio Zamboni

A Guide To Creative Commons Licences

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Creative Commons (CC) Type	Creative Commons Abbreviation	Definition
Creative Commons	CC0	"No Rights Reserved" (This type of CC should still be attributed to the creator)
Attribution	CC-BY	This content may be used and edited if proper attribution is supplied
Attribution Non-Commercial	CC-BY-NC	This content may be used and edited if proper attribution is supplied. You may not use this content for financial gain or advertising
Attribution - Share Alike	CC-BY-SA	This content may be used if proper attribution is supplied. However, if you edit this content, you must make your new content available under the same licence. Therefore, you can use CC-BY-SA material as long as you do not edit this content
Attribution - No Derivative Works	CC-BY-ND	This content may be used if proper attribution is supplied. However, no changes are to be made to this content
Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike	CC-BY-NC-SA	This content may be used if proper attribution is supplied. However, you may not use this content for financial gain or advertising. If this content is edited, you must make your new content available under the same licence
Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivative Works	CC-BY-NC-ND	This content may be used if proper attribution is supplied. However, no changes are to be made to this content and you may not use this content for financial gain or advertising.
Public Domain		Content that was created prior to 1955 is likely to be included within the Public Domain (this should always be confirmed). Therefore, the copyright on the content has likely expired.
Copyright		Any content protected by copyright (this content may, or may not be covered by the Statutory Licence, if it is not, permission from the copyright holder must be obtained prior to using this content)

Helpful Copyright Links

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• Adding Library Content onto VU Collaborate
• Copyright for teaching  

If you wish to search for copyright ‘free’ images and materials try the Creative Commons Website.