IT Issues
Copying material from websites
Hyperlinking
Downloading / file sharing music and video
Format shifting
Infringing material on University website
Copying material from websites
Many people believe that material on websites are in the public domain and free for anyone to use. This is INCORRECT. If the website material falls under any of the types of works protected by Copyright law, then there will be an owner of copyright in the material who has exclusive rights in relation to that material. Beware: the owner of the website may not necessarily be the owner of copyright in all materials on the website – documents, images and music on websites are often taken from other sources.
Copying from websites for teaching purposes
You must first check if there are any terms and conditions on the website governing use of the material.
If no terms and conditions exist, and you wish to copy it for teaching purposes at the University, you may do so in reliance on the Part VA or Part VB licences, but you must include a full citation of the website on the copy. [Please note that any express website terms will override the Part VA or Part VB licences]
Copying outside the scope of Part VA / VB licences or Fair Dealing
Even if the website terms and conditions grant permission for copies to be made, if there is material on there that is attributed to a third party, or that you reasonably believe may be owned by a third party, you should obtain permission from that third party. The website owner may not be authorised to grant permission on behalf of that third party.
Hyperlinking
There are no restrictions on hyperlinking to websites, however you should not link to infringing sites. If you link or direct students to sites which you have a reasonable belief contains material in breach of copyright (e.g. excerpts of commercial films or broadcasts on YouTube), you may be liable for authorising infringement.
Downloading / file sharing music and video
Most music recordings or movies available for free on websites, or by file-sharing software (e.g. BitTorrent, LimeWire) are not made available with the copyright owners’ consent and are illegal copies. When you download an illegal file, you too are making a copy in breach of copyright. Similarly, if you file share or make copyrighted music recordings or films available for download, you will be in breach copyright.
Furthermore, using University equipment to download or distribute illegal copies is a breach of the University’s IT Acceptable Use Policy. Refer also to the Guidelines on Copyright for Music and Video Files.
Format shifting
There are limited provisions in the Copyright Act for copying (in part or in full) material for personal use. These provisions include converting recorded music from CDs into digital files; recording television and radio broadcasts so they can be viewed/listened to at a later time; and format shifting other types of material such as books, magazines or photographs (e.g. by scanning).
For further information, refer to the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department information sheets on private copying of music; time shifting and format shifting.
As these provisions are for private and domestic use only, any such copying must not be done using University equipment.
Infringing material on University website
If you receive any notice alleging that material on a University website is infringing copyright, or if you come across any material on a University website that you reasonably believe is in breach of copyright, please follow the Take Down Notice procedures.
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