The University operates under a statutory licence which allows staff and students to copy from various media for the purpose of teaching or research.  Providing the copy has been made for "educational purposes", the limits noted in the sections below apply.  "Educational purposes" include where:

• the work is made or retained for use, or is used, in connection with a particular course of instruction provided by the institution; or
• the work is made or retained for inclusion, or is included, in the collection of a library of the institution.

Add the statutory notice (S113P) to your course materials

Stringent licensing conditions apply to online communication of copied material. Making third-party copyright material directly available via websites or Canvas without permission from the copyright owner risks breaching the Copyright Act 1968.

To ensure compliance, the University requires that copying and online communication of certain copyright material is managed via Course Readings.

Adding copyright materials to your Canvas course and need a quick introduction? Check out our Copyright for Canvas checklist to help you do the ‘right’ thing in Canvas.

There are also tabs below for using embedded H5P and Padlet content in Canvas.

The University must provide a central register of this material for reporting and remuneration purposes.  To manage this process it is a requirement that all material copied from books and journals is processed via Course Readings.

Copying from hard copy (print) books and journals

The following limits apply to photocopying for educational purposes:

• Only one chapter or 10% of a book (whichever is the greater amount) may be posted online per course per teaching period.  Different editions of the same book do not increase this amount unless substantial changes have been made to the content of the edition.
• No more than one article from a single issue of a journal may be copied or posted online, unless the articles are on the same subject matter. The Course Readings Team can manage this process for you.  Contact them if you wish to make journal articles available in Canvas.

Copying from online journal databases and ebook platforms

Generally the same limits apply as with hard copy (print) materials, but different licensing conditions may apply for different platforms and databases.  Some journals and databases may allow you to post articles directly online and others will not (e.g. open access vs. paywall content).  Best practice is to use the online Course Readings system - the Course Readings Team can provide advice and manage the process for you.

Alternatively, you may be able to link directly to the journal article or ebook content in Canvas.  The Course Readings Team can assist you to create persistent hyperlinks.

Copyright in material published on the Internet is the same as for material published in other formats unless otherwise indicated by the copyright owner.

Just because something is publicly or freely accessible online does not mean that the material is not covered by copyright.

While there are exceptions for certain educational uses of third-party copyright materials in the Copyright Act, there may be times that you need to reproduce something outside of these allowances. You may copy and communicate more than the amounts specified under the various exceptions and licences available to the University where:

• Copyright belongs to the University of Newcastle
• You have received permission in writing (or a direct licence) from the copyright owner to copy and/or communicate the work for teaching and/or course-related purposes

Seeking permission from a copyright owner can be useful for reuse of materials in a MOOC, or where you are wanting to reproduce/communicate the entirety of a resource, such as an entire professional guidelines document, in Course Readings.

The Seeking permissions (teaching) guide has more information.  The Copyright Advisor may also be able to provide assistance.

Where material include a Creative Commons licence, this is direct permission from the copyright owner to make certain uses of the material.  This will vary by the licensing involved - see the Creative Commons tab for more.

Need to keep track of copyright materials used in a project or course? Access our Copyright Checker spreadsheet.

The Copyright for generative AI page includes options around the potential use of copyright materials with genAI tools related to courses and assessments.

This includes potential reliance on:

• the educational statutory licence (S113P),
• exceptions for students with a disability, and
• fair dealing exceptions for student and staff use.

Note that there are limitations around uploading University-owned and student-created materials. Using data-secure systems can also be key - see the Using copyright materials with genAI section on the genAI page for more.

Additional information on using genAI tools can be found on the AI for Staff page of our genAI tools guide.

Many publishers provide supplementary or teaching support materials for textbooks. These are generally intended to be used for courses and shared with students, including via learning management systems like Canvas. There is however no blanket licence or approach for these resources, so each should be considered on a case-by-case basis. Check to see if the material comes with a permission/usage statement that allows for some form or distribution/sharing/embedding in a learning management system.

To keep within usage permissions granted by publishers, please see the best practice points for some common resources below.

Slide decks

• Wherever possible, keep support slides supplied by publishers separate from your own course material – i.e., in distinct slide decks. This will help to keep the copyright and usage permissions clearer.
• Publisher-supplied slides will usually include a copyright statement - do not remove  or obscure this statement.
• If you need to combine publisher slides with University course slides, ⁠please seek advice on how to best approach this for your situation.

Exercises, case studies, questions, and solutions

• If questions, exercises, cases, etc., and their solutions are provided as instructor materials, it's generally be OK to include this content directly in Canvas modules where permission has been provided for use or reproduction. Ensure that you follow any directions provided for use (e.g., only providing selections and not supplying the whole document).
• An attribution statement should be included with all text material added to Canvas to show the source and permission, e.g., "Solution taken from 'Solutions manual to accompany Financial reporting 4th edition', by Loftus et al. © John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd 2022. Reproduced here with permission."
• Where questions are from a textbook or instructor material and express permission for use is not provided, it may still be possible to add the the questions where they are short and generic in nature (e.g., "What are the key elements of the sociological imagination?"). Longer, more detailed questions (such as those incorporating case studies) should only be reproduced in Canvas with permission of the publisher. Depending on the material involved, it may also be possible to add this content as textbook pages via our ⁠Course Readings system.

Flyers, PDF documents, etc.

• Publishers may also include other materials/documents as supplementary materials with textbooks. Do not assume that these are 'safe' to share with students via Canvas unless an appropriate usage statement is provided.
• If the materials are publicly accessible via the web, best practice would be to provide a link to these rather than including them as a file in Canvas.

Psychological measures and health tests

• These are, more often than not, proprietary or commercial materials and should not be shared with students via Canvas unless explicit permission has been provided to do so. This may be included in the resource itself, or gained through contacting the publisher.

Need help with any of the above? Contact the Copyright Advisor

Under the University's Intellectual Property Policy, it is a requirement to obtain permission from guest speakers in courses where their talks, presentations, or similar, are planned to be recorded and distributed for University purposes

Securing this permission ensures that the University can continue to make use of recordings of the content presented, and/or the materials supplied, as needed, creating persistence and consistency for the University's teaching and learning needs.

Our Guest Speakers form (PDF) provides standardised options to gain the appropriate permissions from guest speakers, while allowing speakers to choose access options that suit their requirements.

Notes:

• The form can be printed and filled out manually or completed digitally. Paper forms should be scanned for retention. Where completed digitally, once signed, the form should be locked to capture the speaker's selections.
• The completed form should be kept by the School, following the appropriate processes for records retention. Adding a copy of the form to the course as a hidden document is also recommended where coordinator turnover is possible.
• The form was created to ensure ongoing access to materials in line with the needs of our institution's courses. If limited-period access is desired by the speaker, this should be negotiated directly and kept on record with the form.

Have a question? Contact the Copyright Advisor

Best practice for PowerPoints

• When relying on the educational statutory licence to share third-party images, etc., add the S113P notice text to your PowerPoint.
• You can also seek permission directly from a copyright owner to reproduce material.
• When relying on other permissions or licences, follow the stipulations for usage noted by the copyright owner or in the licence attached to the material.  An adapted S113P notice that considers other permissions is available.
• Provide source details (wherever appropriate) so that your students can see appropriate academic citation.

To learn more, access the Creating a PowerPoint copyright guide (PDF).

Wanting to use  supplementary/support slides from  publishers? See the tab above.

Best practice for examinations

• When relying on the examination-use exceptions to share third-party copyright material, add the Examinations notice text to the examination materials/documents.
• Acknowledge your reuse of the third-party material by providing source details, including an ‘Adapted from …’ statement where required.
• Where you need to provide third-party copyright materials to students for other assessments, this can be done via the Course Readings system.  Readings can be hidden from student view until needed.

To learn more, access the Examinations copyright guide (PDF).

As Panopto can record and communicate material from a variety of sources, lecture capture should be paused if ever you are uncertain whether material can be recorded.  This is the same for any pre-recorded video content you create for your course.

Some activities permitted in an on-campus lecture or tutorial become breaches of copyright where material is recorded or communicated.  Other activities may be permitted, but in a restricted form, or require the use of specific warning notices.

Please see the guide to Classes and Sessions (PDF) or contact the Copyright Advisor for more information.

Best practice

• Keep track of all images used in H5P objects, to add the source and copyright/licensing information.
• When relying on the educational statutory licence for reuse/sharing of third-party images in H5P objects in Canvas, add the S113P warning notice to (or above/near) the H5P object. We are unable to rely on this licence for H5P objects that are not embedded in Canvas.
• Do not add or link to infringing content.
• YouTube (and some other online videos) can be directly added to H5P.
• Music files can be added as streaming content under our Tertiary Music Agreement – see the Using music tab below.

To learn more, access the H5P in Canvas copyright guide (PDF).

Best practice

• Be clear about what the embedded Padlet is for. Is it for questions only? Are you encouraging students to post images, etc.?
• Ensure any third-party documents are added as link-only (or to Course Readings), and not as PDFs directly in the embedded Padlet.
• When students rely on fair dealing, there is no requirement to add a copyright notice, but when material is shared in a course it becomes reliant on the educational statutory licence. Add the S113P warning notice to (or above/near) the embedded Padlet to cover usage under this licence and keep an eye on what material has been posted (No links to infringing content, music files, etc. Images should relate to the course of study/discussion).
• Provide (and encourage use of) source details for images so students understand citation practices.

To learn more, access the Padlet in Canvas copyright guide (PDF).

Looking for materials that are free for you and/or your students to use and have clear guidelines?  Check out the page on Open-licensed and free resources.

These curated resources are  not only useful for assessments and course-use, but also for social media and personal projects outside of university.

Best practice for readings and documents

• Do not download files and add them directly to Canvas unless you have explicit permission (or a licence) from the copyright owner.  When relying on other permissions or licences, follow the requirements for use noted by the copyright owner or in the licensing attached to the material.
• Linking to material online is a good option.  Where you are linking to journal articles, etc., ensure that you go through the Library so that you include our network/proxy access.  This will mean that your students can log in and access our subscriptions, rather than being presented with a ‘paywall’.
• The Course Readings system removes a lot of the stress associated with adding readings to your course.  It manages copyright for you and also provides clear usage statistics.  Please contact the support team for assistance with adding readings or using the platform.
• Do not electronically share readings for your course outside of the secure environment/s noted above.  Doing so is not covered by the educational statutory licence and may infringe copyright.
• Limit material in Course Readings to that which could be reused elsewhere – articles, books, chapters, webpages, video links, etc.  Add materials that were written/designed specifically for your course to Canvas.
• If your course uses printed readings (such as a course reader or course pack), the copyright requirements will vary to those noted above.  Please check the information sheet for Using Printed Readings (PDF) to learn more.

To learn more, access the Readings in Your Course copyright guide (PDF).

Best practice for Australian Standards

• Link to Australian Standards, do not try to download and provide (or send) as a file.
• To minimise barriers to access, encourage students in your course to register an account with the i2i platform and check their access to Australian Standards as soon as possible.
• While downloaded Standards files have usage restrictions, advise students that they can download and/or print a copy for their own later use (the current DRM 'checks in' with the files for access).
• Where use of a Standard is essential to successful completion of an assessment, provide a link to the Library’s User Guide to Australian Standards (PDF) to help students to successfully access the platform.
• While some Australian Standards content may be reproducible under the Educational Statutory Licence (S113P), there are restrictions on use. You should therefore limit the amount of content you reproduce in course materials or record in sessions. You will also need to provide source/referencing information and a copyright notice as with other materials used under S113P.

To learn more, access the Australian Standards copyright guide (PDF).

Documents and materials from our health provider partners will likely not be covered under the educational statutory licence (S113P) above due to the types of materials involved and/or the purpose behind them. To assist with the use of these materials in our courses, the Copyright Advisor has negotiated usage permissions for the University. Note that requirements for use will vary, based on the provider.

NSW Health

• Where NSW Health material is openly available online, we have been granted permission to use this material however we need to.
• Where documents are internal to NSW Health (e.g., accessible via hospital intranet, blank/paper patient forms, etc.), use of these materials in our courses requires written permission from the NSW Health CEC. University staff should send a request to the Copyright Advisor to coordinate approval for internal materials. Please include as much detail as possible, including the document number from the margins.
• Where materials are approved for use in course sites or assessments, please add the following attribution statement in Canvas modules or elsewhere as appropriate: '© NSW Health. Reproduced with permission'.

Local Health Districts (LHDs) - Hunter New England and Central Coast

• Both Hunter New England Local Health District (HNELHD) and Central Coast Local Health District (CCLHD) have granted the University permission to make use of their internal and external content in our courses.
• There is a requirement to check that we are using the current/latest version of any documents and forms. For each instance of course delivery, it is the coordinator's responsibility to check for updates to any materials and to only use the latest version. Where an older version is required for historical comparison or similar use, it should be clearly marked as such in Canvas to remove any confusion.
• The following attribution statement should be added to HNELHD material in Canvas modules: '© Hunter New England Local Health District. Reproduced with permission'. For CCLHD materials, add: '© Central Coast Local Health District. Reproduced with permission'.

Other LHDs

• Note that NSW Health does not have an overarching ownership of all health-related materials. As noted in their respective copyright statements, each LHD will usually own the materials/documents they create.
• For materials from outside of the above organisations, please contact the Copyright Advisor.

This includes maps, diagrams, charts, drawings, paintings, cartoons, prints, engravings, photographs, illustrations, and so on.

The whole of  an artistic work may be copied  from a hard copy original if it illustrates or accompanies the text or audio you are copying, or if it can't be separately purchased at reasonable cost in a reasonable time.

The whole of an artistic work may be copied from a digital original, if it can't be purchased at reasonable cost in a reasonable time.

It is a requirement that the S113P Copyright Warning notice be included "on or with" all artwork and images unless already appropriately licensed (e.g. via payment, open licensing or direct permission).

For memes, see the separate tab below.

Best practice for video content

• Video content can be embedded and/or linked in Canvas, and added to Course Readings lists.
• Some video material may not be able to be streamed or recorded into sessions for your course - this will vary based on the licensing and terms of use involved.
• Do not use or promote infringing content in your course.
• For licensed video content, access the ClickView, Kanopy and TVNews databases - usage varies by licence (see below).
• Do not post your course materials to YouTube.  Video hosting can be done via Panopto.
• You are not permitted to copy Blu-Rays, DVDs or other commercial releases that you have bought, hired or borrowed.  Commercial releases can be shown in class under S28 of the Copyright Act.  See Classes and Sessions below for more information.

To learn more about specific platforms and usage, access the guide documents below:

• Using YouTube (PDF)
• ClickView - Copyright guide (PDF) and User guide (PDF)
• Using Kanopy (PDF)
• Using TVNews (PDF)
• Using Netflix (PDF) - Stan, Binge, Prime Video, etc., will be similar.
• Using TED Talks (PDF)
• Classes and Sessions (PDF)

Under the University's Screenrights licence, staff are permitted to copy:

• Entire radio broadcasts
• Podcasts of broadcast material

The material must be copied for educational purposes.  All copies must be labelled with the University's name, a reference to S113P of the Copyright Act, the date on which the program was broadcast and the date on which the copy was made (if different).

Any copy that is communicated or made available must:

• carry a warning notice unless the people receiving the program cannot make further copies or communications of the program
• be restricted to University of Newcastle staff and students.  Copies communicated online must be restricted to University of Newcastle staff and students (e.g., only made available via Canvas, requiring staff /student login).

The University remunerates for the Tertiary Music Agreement (TMA), a licensing arrangement with the Australian music societies (APRA, AMCOS, ARIA, and PPCA).  Under Tier 1 of the TMA, music from the catalogue of works from these societies may be used in live sessions and recordings.  This includes both recordings of music and the underlying compositions.

Any music used should be incorporated into your session recording or made available via streaming only.  The TMA does not permit music files to be made available as individual downloads.

For the music synchronisation rights granted under the TMA, see our Tertiary Music Agreement 2024 guide (PDF). This guide also includes non-educational uses. Note that uses for marketing purposes are outside of the parameters of the TMA.

The University also remunerates for Tier 2 of the TMA, allowing for copying and communication of music scores (sheet music) - as long as an appropriate marking is included (see the Classes and Sessions guide below) and copies are destroyed at the end of each teaching period.

Note that streaming services like Spotify and Tidal will have restrictions under their user agreements - their accounts are usually for personal use only.

To learn more, access the Classes and Sessions guide (PDF).

Courses at the University that are limited to our (internal) students may be able to rely on the educational statutory licence in the Copyright Act 1968 for reuse of content (see the tab above). However, where enrolments in MOOCs, micro-credentials, or short/certificate courses do not contribute to the University’s EFTSL reporting, this exception in the Act should not be applied. You will therefore need to rely on open-licensed materials and/or 'free' resources, link to online content, or seek permission from the copyright owner/s.

Best practice

• Link to open / publicly-accessible material wherever possible (or embed for YouTube/etc. ). Be careful not to link to, or embed, infringing content.
• Use of Creative Commons-licensed materials and 'free' resources can make it easier to populate learning materials for short courses.
• Before using any of your own publications (articles, chapters, etc.), in a short course , check your publishing agreement to ensure  that you have the ability to do so, and whether a particular version is required (e.g., author manuscript).
• Keep detailed notes of where you sourced material from – this will help with attribution, licensing/reuse statements, and/or any permissions needed. Our Copyright Checker spreadsheet can assist with this.
• Allow plenty of time to request permissions – while some approvals can be relatively quick, others can take months.
• Make sure to follow any directions or conditions set out in the permissions/licensing you identify or receive.
• For assistance with permissions or understanding open or educational licensing contact the Copyright Advisor.

To learn more, access the MOOCs and Short courses copyright guide (PDF).

Creative Commons (CC) licences have legal backing and grant permission for users to share, build on, or customise works with minimal restriction (such as acknowledging the original), at no cost.

CC-licensed materials are great for use is open courses (such as short courses and MOOCs) as well as in teaching materials, OER and so on.  Note that there is a minimum requirement for attribution when reusing CC materials.

Looking for CC-licensed materials for you and/or your students to use?  Check out the page on Open-licensed and free resources.

To learn more about open materials, including what the licence elements mean, visit our page on Open licensing.

Internet archive sites can be a way to access content that is no longer readily accessible on the web (i.e. where the links have 'died').  Where these sites have cached a snapshot of the web content (captured on a particular date and time), users can essentially 'reanimate' the links for access.

The way these sites structure the archived links should provide persistence, making them suitable for use in courses and reading lists.  Use of archived links is recommended over the use of old PDFs of website content in Course Readings.

The Internet Archive Sites guide (PDF) works through an example 'dead' link using two archive sites.

Note: Not all web pages may be captured by these archive sites, and snapshots may not cover all dates.

'Fair dealing' is a collection of defined exceptions in the Copyright Act 1968 in Australia (the Act) that allow for certain uses of literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and audio-visual material without infringing copyright. The defined exceptions cover "criticism or review", "parody or satire", "reporting news", "research or study’", and "judicial proceedings or professional advice".

'Fair use' is a principle from U.S. legislation that is generally broader in its application than our fair dealing in Australia. Due to the more open interpretation around reuse of copyright material under fair use, courts are often required to arbitrate disputes. Fair use does not apply in Australia, so any copyright information you've Googled that mentions fair use will most likely not apply here.

Note that while fair dealing may cover students reproducing material in their assignments (with appropriate referencing), it does not cover certain reuses, such as:

• Publishing or communicating third-party materials in a journal article, conference presentation or thesis. Use for publication or communication online usually requires permission from the copyright owner unless licensing is already attached to the material.
• Educational use by staff in courses. The fair dealing exceptions for "research or study" and "criticism or review" do not cover educational use of copyright materials in university courses (this is done under the educational statutory licence - see the tab above).

To learn more about fair dealing, read the Fair Dealing vs. Fair Use guide (PDF).

Best practice

• Students will generally own the IP they create unless otherwise agreed, as per the University's Intellectual Property Policy. Consent is required for IP assignment and/or licensing.
• Where an industry partner or a hosting organisation requires ownership of IP created by students, a direct agreement is usually required between the student and the industry partner to facilitate transfer.
• University staff should set out expectations to industry partners when inviting them to participate in academic courses and/or projects, in particular that they will not have ownership or a right to use any IP created outside the WIL project / assessment/ studio unless they negotiate directly with the student/s involved.
• Additionally, staff should not share student-created materials with industry partners outside the WIL project / assessment / studio or other activity for which they were created.
• Where students build on existing IP, or work with confidential or proprietary information, provided by an industry partner or host organisation, students should be made aware of the requirements and limitations around this material.
• Reuse options and/or rights retention should be considerations for students when making informed decision about assigning their IP, or granting consent for certain uses by industry partners. Students should ensure they retain sufficient rights to make use of any materials they create, for coursework/assessments, theses, and/or work portfolios.

More comprehensive information can be found in our guide to Students & Placements (PDF).

In recent years there has been growth in students posting 'student notes' to sites such as StuDocu, Course Hero, etc. Where this material is solely comprised of summaries created by students (without reproduction of course materials) this is allowed. The issue is that students may directly reproduce material from course notes, slides, etc., and then post this online. Wherever possible, students should be discouraged from doing so.

Under our IP Policy, the University of Newcastle owns the intellectual property in all course materials created at the University. Because of this, the posting of certain material to these sites may contravene the University's Copyright Compliance Policy and Guidelines, as well as the Student Conduct Rule. There may also be issues with academic integrity around assessable content (see below).

Where course coordinators (or other teaching staff) discover their course materials have been posted to these sites, they can report this to the Copyright Advisor to have the material removed under the DMCA takedown process.

To report materials from these sites, please fill out the online form for copyright takedowns - required fields are noted. The form can be used to submit multiple links from a notes-sharing site for each course .

Where materials posted to these sites directly impact academic integrity (such as content from assessments), this is dealt with by the Office of the DVC(A) - please report these instances to your School's Student  Academic Conduct Officer (SACO) for action.