COPYRIGHT A Melbourne Athenaeum Library Cybersafety Information Guide Image source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Copyright.svg A Melbourne Athenaeum Library Cybersafety Information Guide Image source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Copyright.svg

Disclaimer Copyright law is complex and always changing This document is not intended as legal advice If in doubt, please ask a library staff member for assistance The Australian Copyright Council’s website has a number of information sheets on copyright issues: https://www.copyright.org.au/

What is copyright? The exclusive and assignable legal right, given to the originator for a fixed number of years, to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material. Copyright does not have to be registered to exist. Copyright does not protect ideas, information, styles or techniques.

Copyright and the internet Just because material is freely available doesn’t make it free to use. Material on the internet such as text, photos, music and videos may be protected by copyright. Examine the website for information on who owns the copyright. Take the following example from the Myer website

Copyright and the internet Myer Website terms and conditions The Sites and their content are subject to copyright, and other intellectual property rights. These rights are owned by Myer Pty Ltd (ABN 83 004 143 239), or in the case of some material, a third party, where the third party has provided permission to use the content You must not otherwise reproduce, transmit (including broadcast), communicate, adapt, distribute, sell, modify or publish or otherwise use any of the material on a Site, including audio and video excerpts, except as permitted by statute or with our prior consent

What can be used? Express permission Some websites state that you can download material for personal or non-commercial use Eg. Bendigo Bank states The Website Content (including trade marks and logos) is our intellectual property or that of our suppliers. We grant you a non-exclusive, non-transferable and limited right to access and use this Website, view the Website Content on your screen and print copies of such Website Content, solely for your personal, non-commercial use, and provided that you comply fully with these Terms.

What can be used? Implied permissions Look for implied permissions, for example a website may have a button saying “Printer friendly version” or “Email to a friend” These are limited permissions

What can be used? Permissions Other websites use Creative Commons licences Eg. Wikipedia This page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License You are free to: Read and Print our articles and other media free of charge. Share and Reuse our articles and other media under free and open licenses. Contribute To and Edit our various sites or Projects Under the following conditions: Responsibility – you take responsibility for your edits (since we only host your content). Civility – You support a civil environment and do not harass other users. Lawful Behavior – You do not violate copyright or other laws. No Harm – You do not harm our technology infrastructure. Terms of use and policies – You adhere to the below Terms of Use and to the applicable community policies when you visit our sites or participate in our communities. With the understanding that: You License Freely Your Contributions – you generally must license your contributions and edits to our sites or Projects under a free and open license (unless your contribution is in the public domain).

How can I find usable material? Creative commons provides a link to search engines which will help you identify material which can be reused: https://search.creativecommons.org/ Image source: http://xkcd.com/285/

What about my material? If you upload anything to the internet such as photos, videos, poems etc. there is a risk that they may be used without your permission and in ways that you are unhappy about. It may be worthwhile considering the use of a Creative Commons licence to give you some protection: https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/ Image source: https://pixabay.com/en/creative-commons-licenses-icons-by-783531/ Image source: https://pixabay.com/en/creative-commons-licenses-icons-by-783531/

Thank you Thank you for taking the time to read this guide. If you have any further queries please don’t hesitate to ask library staff. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.