Knowing how to use copyright material ethically and legally is a key skill for university, the workplace and wider life. If you understand licences and ‘exceptions’ in copyright law, you'll be able to use material lawfully and avoid copyright infringement.
Remember, your own original work is protected by copyright too.
Studying
You might need to access or make copies of copyright works for your own private study. There are ways you can do this legally, within certain limits.
- Library resources
-
The Library pays licence fees for access to online resources such as ebooks and online journal articles. Current students can access these resources and download and print sections for their own personal use. The amount you can copy is usually restricted by download limits which are automatically applied to the resource. You should respect these limits and not try to bypass them.
Copies of these resources should not be shared with people outside the University unless they have a licence, such as a Creative Commons licence, which permits this kind of sharing.
Your lecturer may provide you with scans of book chapters or journal articles which have been specifically licensed for students on your course. This is usually through MyAberdeen or an online reading list. Follow the guidance on the coversheets for these scans, and don’t share them with people outside your course.
- Research and private study
-
There is an ‘exception’ in copyright law which allows people to make a copy for their own personal non-commercial research without requiring permission from the copyright owner.
If you make a copy, it must be fair to the copyright holder. Although there’s no strict legal definition of what is fair, copying no more than about one chapter from a book or a single article from a journal issue is a good general guideline. The copy must be for your own individual use. You should keep a record of the original author and source as this will help you to reference the material correctly later on.
- Accessible copies
-
UK copyright law allows a disabled person, or another person acting on their behalf, to make an accessible copy from a work. The disabled person should have lawful access to the original work. This includes material they can access through the Library or have bought themselves. The copy must only be used by the disabled person and should not be passed on to anyone else.
If you need copies of material in alternative formats, contact the Library Disability Team: librarydisability@abdn.ac.uk.
Assignments and assessments
When you’re doing academic work, it’s very likely you will need to use sources produced by other people which are protected by copyright.
- Quotes of text, images and other media
-
There are exceptions in copyright law which allow limited copying for quotation, criticism and review and to illustrate a teaching point. This can include quotes from books or articles, as well as ‘quotations’ from other works. This might be from photographs or artworks, or clips from films, TV programmes or music. If you use quotations, make sure that your use is fair to the original creator. Don’t copy more than you need to make your point. Always include an attribution to the original creator. Not only is this good practice for copyright but also for avoiding plagiarism.
Plagiarism and copyright infringement
Copyright infringement and plagiarism both relate to the improper use of other people’s work, but they are different. Plagiarism is when you copy someone else’s work and give the impression that it’s your own. Copyright infringement is when you reuse someone else’s work without an appropriate licence or justification under a copyright exception, even if you acknowledge the original. Referencing your sources is very important but it’s only one aspect of avoiding copyright infringement.
- Material for design and decorative purposes
-
You may want to use material such as photos or music to make a piece of work, like a presentation, poster, or video essay, more engaging. If the material you want to use isn’t directly illustrating a point you want to make, it might be hard to justify using it under a copyright exception.
However, there is material you can use freely for design purposes which doesn’t have these copyright limitations. Look for material that’s in the public domain or licensed under Creative Commons or a similar open licence. Our external resources page has links to collections of openly licensed content including photos, illustrations and music.
Sharing and reuse
It’s now easier than ever to share material with anyone through the web and social media. Make sure you’re copyright aware when you share and reuse.
- Course material
-
The University holds the copyright in teaching material produced by lecturers and other staff members. Do not share or sell copies of your course material, such as lecture slides, recordings, handouts, or exam questions, with people outside the University: this is copyright infringement. This includes uploading material to study and tutoring sites such as Course Hero and StudocU or sharing lecture recordings on platforms such as YouTube.
- Library resources
-
The University pays licences to publishers to allow students and staff to access electronic resources such as ebooks, online journals and specialist databases. This material is protected by copyright, so do not share copies of it with anyone outside the university unless it has a licence such as a Creative Commons licence which permits open sharing.
- Linking and social media
-
When you’re sharing material online, it’s usually best to share a link to the original rather than posting a new copy. This reduces the risk of copyright infringement and helps creators get proper recognition for their work by directing people to their social media channels or websites.
Linking to content is not normally seen as copyright infringement, but make sure you’re linking to legitimate versions of the content, not illegal or pirated copies. This is not only good from a copyright perspective but for online security too.
Your copyright
Remember that any original creative work you produce is protected by copyright too. If you create the work for an employer, they will usually own the copyright. However, if you create it in your free time, you will be the copyright owner.
When you register at the University, you agree to assign the intellectual property rights, including the copyright, of any work that you produce as part of your study to the University. To find out more about this, and how to opt out, see the intellectual property rights section of the University’s student terms and conditions.
Looking after your copyright is important if you want to sell or licence your work commercially. The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has advice on protecting your intellectual property.
Alternatively, if you want to share your work more freely to allow others to reuse it, consider placing it under a Creative Commons licence.
Further help
If you’d like further help with any copyright-related issues, get in touch with us: library@abdn.ac.uk