The information on this page is for educators at Curtin who wish to use copyrighted material in their teaching, either through readings or course material (e.g. powerpoints).
| Type of material | Amount that can be copied |
|---|---|
| Journals and newspapers | One article per issue, two or more articles per issue if they relate to the same subject matter |
| Books | 10% of the words, or 10% of the pages, or one chapter, whichever is greater |
| Website content | We recommend checking the “terms of use” for permitted and prohibited uses. Always link to websites rather than uploading site material to Blackboard. |
| Conference papers | Use depends on whether the material is published as a journal article (if including in regular conference proceedings), as a book chapter (if include in one-off conference proceedings); or as a whole work. If the paper is a whole work, you will only be permitted to copy 10% of it |
| Anthologies | An entire work in an anthology (for example, a short story or a poem) can be copied if the work is less than 15 pages. If more than 15 pages long, you may copy 10% or one chapter, whichever is applicable. |
| Artistic works (e.g. images, diagrams, maps, tables, etc.) | These may be copied together with the text to explain the work. The whole of an artistic work may be copied unless it has been separately published. If separately published, the artwork may only be copied if you license its use, or it is out of print or unavailable (see point below). |
| Exams | You are able to copy and communicate any amount of a copyrighted work to include in exam questions, whether the exam takes place in person or online. Ensure that only Curtin staff and students can access the exam, and attribute the source. This only applies to assessable components of the course. If administering a practice exam or quiz (i.e. a non-assessable element), the usual statutory license restrictions apply. |
| Out of print or unavailable material | More than the 10% limit may be used if the University is satisfied, after checking availability, that copies of the work cannot be obtained within a reasonable time and at an ordinary commercial price |
| Short quotes and extracts | These should be limited to 1-2 pages, or 1% of the words of the material, and do not require the copyright warning notice |
The following are some best practices for making sure your unit is copyright compliant.
If you are hosting unit materials on Canvas, you are required to use openly licensed content as your unit readings. These can be links to ‘free to read’ content, copies of scholarly journal articles through an open repository rather than a paywalled publisher site, or website content where the terms of use permit educational use. Learn more about finding open materials, and review the information on MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), below.
MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are delivered online and often freely available to the public. They are designed to engage with large numbers of users. Here are some answers to copyright questions related to MOOCs.
Can I use the University’s statutory education license to use copyrighted material in a MOOC?
The statutory education license requires that material be limited to only Curtin staff and students. Material must be provided and monitored through the Reading List service. If a MOOC doesn’t comply with these requirements, it cannot rely on the license to use copyrighted materials.
Can copyrighted materials be provided under a “fair dealing” exception in a MOOC?
The Fair Dealing exception in the Copyright Act, which permits copying a limited amount of material for the purposes of ‘research or study’ and ‘criticism or review’, is unlikely to apply to MOOCs due to the large scale use of the MOOC. When using this exception, the purpose (‘research or study’ and ‘criticism or review’) is determined by the person dealing with the copyright work. For example, an instructor cannot post third party material on behalf of a student’s ‘research and study’. The exception may however be used by course participants who are evaluating a copyright work for ‘criticism or review’.
What copyrighted material can I use a MOOC?
Finding material that can be used in a MOOC can require some creativity, and would benefit from the support of a Faculty Librarian. Some types of material you can use in a MOOC include:
Protecting your copyright as a MOOC developer.
When developing your MOOC, there should be a contract between the University, instructor(s) and/or the MOOC provider. This contract will specify who owns the course materials. The contract may require that you licence or assign your copyright in the course materials to the MOOC provider.
Before formalising any agreement, consider the conditions you want to attach to the course materials you create. Perhaps the course materials can be made available as an open access resource, enabling other educators to use them?
Study help sites (e.g. Chegg, Studocu, etc) offer a range of services to support students in their studies, including on-demand tutors, the sharing of course notes, re-selling of textbooks, and assignment writing services.
It is not uncommon for these sites to host hundreds of files of Curtin-owned material, including include presentation slides, handouts, lecture notes, and examination papers/answers. This is not a problem unique to Curtin, as most universities have their content shared on these sites. If students upload Curtin unit materials, then the student is infringing copyright, and the material can be removed upon request. Information on removing Curtin copyright materials from Study help sites is available in the Curtin Staff Portal at Copyright and takedown requests.
We are unable to prevent students selling their own notes as they own the copyright in their own works, however the notes would need to be their paraphrasing of the course materials, lecture notes, readings, etc.
See the Forms and Templates page.