Copyright policies
Unless otherwise permitted by the Copyright Act 1968, unauthorised copying of a work in which copyright subsists may infringe the copyright in that work. If you reproduce material, in either hardcopy or electronic formats, which is protected by copyright, without the permission of the copyright owner, you may infringe copyright. Reproducing a part of a work may infringe copyright if a part is important; it need not be a large part. Copyright owners are entitled to take legal action against people who infringe their copyright. La Trobe University does not authorise individuals to make infringing reproductions of copyright material. This includes any unauthorised copying or downloading from the Internet of files (such as music, movies or software). It is an individual’s responsibility to make sure that any reproductions they make do not infringe copyright.
Photocopiers, scanners, cameras, mobile phones and image capturing devices
Where making a copy of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or an adaptation of a literary, dramatic or musical work is a fair dealing under section 40 of the Copyright Act 1968, making that copy is not an infringement of the copyright in the work if it is for the purpose of research or study. Copying of one or more articles on the same subject matter in a periodical publication (e.g. magazines, newspapers and journals) is taken to be ‘fair’. In the case of any other work, a reasonable portion of a work may be copied. For a published work in hard copy form, which is not less than ten pages and is not an artistic work (e.g. graphs, maps, pictures), 10 per cent of the total number of pages, or one chapter, is a reasonable portion. The 10 per cent limit applies to the whole or part of a single chapter of the work. More extensive copying may constitute a fair dealing for the purpose of research or study. To determine whether it does, it is necessary to have regard to the criteria set out in section 40 (2) of the Copyright Act 1968:
- the purpose and character of the dealing
- the nature of the work or adaptation
- the possibility of obtaining the work within a reasonable time at an ordinary commercial price
- the effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the work
- where only part of the work or adaptation is copied, the amount and substantiality of the part copied in relation to the whole work or adaptation.
Computers and USB devices (including mobile phones and media players)
If you reproduce print and graphic material in hard copy or electronic form, protected by copyright without the permission of the copyright owner, you may infringe copyright. This includes printing material, saving to a USB device (flash drive), saving to floppy disk, external drive (eg mp3 player, mobile phone, PDA), CD or DVD and copying a file from one USB device, floppy disk, external drive (eg mp3 player, mobile phone, PDA), CD or DVD to another or taking photographs of the material. Reproducing the whole or part of a work may infringe copyright.
You should check whether there are any special conditions that apply to reproducing the material you are viewing, particularly if the material is on a CD-ROM or an online database.
If you are downloading or reproducing material from the Internet, you should check whether there is a statement about copyright or terms of use on the site where the material is stored. You should only download or reproduce material which is authorised by the copyright owner.
If you copy material for your research or study, you may not infringe copyright provided your copying is fair. In deciding whether your use is fair, you should take into account the factors under section 40 (2) of the Copyright Act 1968 (see above). The copying limits are the same for a periodical publication as stated above, whether in electronic or hard copy form. In the case of a published edition in the electronic form, a reasonable portion is 10 per cent of the words (if not divided into pages) or 10 per cent of the pages or one chapter. If the published edition is in hard copy form, a reasonable portion is 10 per cent of the pages or one chapter. The 10 per cent limit applies to the whole or part of a single chapter of the work. Digital/Electronic rights management data must be kept with the digital/electronic file.
Audiovisual items
If you copy an audiovisual item such as a sound recording, a film, a television broadcast, webcast, videocast, podcast or sound broadcast for your research or study, you may not infringe copyright, provided your copying is fair. In deciding whether your use is fair, you should take into account the matters under section 103C of the Copyright Act 1968:
- the purpose and character of the dealing
- the nature of the audiovisual item
- the possibility of obtaining the audiovisual item within a reasonable time at an ordinary commercial price
- the effect of the dealing upon the potential market for, or value of, the audiovisual item
- in a case where part only of the audiovisual item is copied – the amount and substantiality of the part copied taken in relation to the whole item.
If you are downloading or reproducing material from the internet (webcast, vodcast, podcast), you should check whether there is a statement about copyright or terms of use on the site where the material is stored and follow the requirements. Digital/Electronic rights management data must be kept with the digital/electronic file. You should only download or copy material from legitimate websites which has been authorised by the copyright owner.