RCSI Library Copyright Guidelines: FAQ
What is copyright?
Copyright is a property right. It is an automatic right that protects the ownership and attribution rights of individuals and organisations who create works of any type.
What is a “work”?
There is no definition of “work” but works can include a book, a journal article, music, images, videos, broadcasts and software.
What is covered by copyright?
Any ideas or expression of facts that are recorded in any format are covered by copyright for the lifetime of the creator and up to 70 years after death. Unrecorded ideas and facts are not covered by copyright. All printed and published works are usually protected by copyright.
Are internet texts and images copyright protected?
All electronic texts and images on the internet are also protected by copyright whether there is a copyright statement on them or not. Only objects explicitly labelled “copyright free” or carrying a Creative Commons licence may be reused without permission.
Can I store journal articles in Moodle?
RCSI purchases a licence from the Irish Copyright Licencing Agency (ICLA) permitting the use of subscribed journal material within the VLE for learning purposes provided access is confined to RCSI Staff and students only. Often it is simpler to simply link to electronic journals; see the Library’s linking instructions for more.
What uses are permitted under the Copyright Act 2000 and the ICLA Irish Higher Education Licence?
The 2000 Act and the ICLA licence permit the following specific educational uses:
- Lecturers may make paper multiple copies of a single journal article or up to 5% of a book to distribute in class.
- Lecturers may use digital or printed copyright material in-class (in slides, in notes or handouts). To ensure compliance, any text or image or other object that is not declared to be copyright-free should be cited with the source given.
- A lecturer’s own recorded lectures, slides, notes etc., which may contain some copyright material, may be stored on Moodle on the basis that only students of the College have access.
What uses are prohibited?
- The photocopying or digitisation of more than 5%/one chapter/one article of any work protected by copyright.
- The digitisation of entire copyright works in audio visual formats (video or audio clips, images, visual datasets) on the VLE; this situation is complex – you can show them in class but not store them digitally.
- The ICLA Licence currently does not yet permit the mounting of journal articles into a VLE without the explicit permission of the copyright holder; you can distribute print copies to the class but RCSI is not licensed to store complete articles on Moodle. See instructions for linking to journal articles.
- Neither copyright law nor copyright licences permit the public storage or the re-distribution of downloaded articles to others on the open internet or by e-mail or by hard storage device.
- Students who may inappropriately reuse material derived from College sources (lectures, lecture content, licensed journals etc.) may be in breach of network acceptable use, journal licence terms of use and copyright laws.
What should I do if it is unclear whether a work is copyright protected or not?
Where the copyright situation is in doubt, and rather than copy entire works, seek explicit permission from the publisher or link to URLs using the instructions for linking to journal articles.
What about clinical images and recordings?
The use of patient derived images is governed by Data Protection and Freedom of Information law and their use poses other ethical issues. The UK General Medical Council guidelines on the use of clinical images are comprehensive and a model of best practice Making and Using Visual and Audio Recordings of Patients May 2002
Summary
Assume a work or object is protected by copyright unless accompanied by a statement that it is explicitly free of copyright.
Seek advice or permission to use when in doubt about copyright status.
Within Moodle if possible link to the URL of the object or text rather than copy the object itself, using the instructions for linking to journal articles created by Mercer librarians.
More Information
Irish Copyright Licensing Agency
Copyright legislation available at: http://www.irishstatutebook.ie
- Data Protection Commission
- Information Commission
- UK General Medical Council, Making and Using Visual and Audio Recordings of Patients; May 2002.
Disclaimer
These guidelines are intended for general information only on copyright issues and do not claim to be, nor should they interpreted to be, legal advice.
Paul Murphy RCSI Library 2013