Researchers and HDR students
Key copyright considerations for researchers and HDR students:
Compliance
Staff and HDR students have a responsibility to be copyright compliant in their use of materials at the University, including with genAI (per the University's Copyright Compliance Policy). Uploading copyright materials to genAI without an appropriate licence or permission to do so can infringe copyright where there isn't an exception for this use in Australia's copyright legislation.
It is your responsibility to confirm that you are able to upload, or otherwise include, copyright materials as part of genAI prompts for your research. Commercial considerations may also come into play.
Staff should not promote activities that could potentially infringe copyright.
Data security
When uploading materials to genAI, be aware that not all tools are the same. Many tools take user prompts and materials and turn them into training data for their systems. This means that your work could end up being used in an output for someone else, possibly even verbatim. This is why data security is important for both your work and other copyright materials.
Supervisors should discuss data security with HDR students to better inform them about using genAI.
See the accordions for Copilot and data security above for more information.
Research use
Staff and HDR students may be able to rely on fair dealing for certain uses around research, but fair dealing may then limit some uses of the outputs.
Other uses with genAI may be covered by options such as a licensing/subscription agreement for publisher databases, open licensing like Creative Commons, or permissions granted by a copyright owner. At least some restrictions will likely apply to these options.
University-owned materials can only be uploaded into systems endorsed by the Univerity (currently only Microsoft Copilot thanks to its data security).
Articles, chapters, books, etc., that you have published are likely to be controlled by your publishing agreement. You may not be able to upload these to genAI without permission from your publisher.
Do not assume that just because something is openly available online that you can use it with genAI.
See the accordions for University-owned materials, publisher subscription agreements, Creative Commons, permissions, and using your own work above for more information.
Note that draft patents are generally not suitable to upload into genAI due to the potential for copying and dissemination that can occur with these tools.
Recommended genAI tools
The University provides free enterprise access to Microsoft Copilot for both staff and HDR students. When logged in through the University, users receive data security that covers anything shared with Copilot, whether in a prompt or uploaded as an attachment. This can provide greater certainty around uploading copyright works, as they are more likely to be covered under licensing or a copyright exception, as well as security for your own work.
Some AI tools don't require uploading of files to provide useful information, e.g., Research Rabbit, which can be used via titles and DOIs. Our AI Tools guide has more.
While not strictly copyright-related, don't forget to check on whether your prospective journal/publisher allows for use of genAI in research publications - see AI for Research.
See the accordions for Copilot, using your own materials, and data security above for more information.
Learn more
For more information see the sections above on Copyright basics for genAI and Using copyright materials with genAI.
Have a question? Contact the Copyright Advisor
More information around the use of genAI can also be found on the University's AI Tools guide.
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