Copyright in Online Resources - Users

Copyright in Online ResourcesA Course for content users

OUCSRowan Wilson February 2009

Copyright in Online ResourcesA Course for Content Users

CAUTION! I am not a lawyer

This talk is focused on electronic resources

This talk is focused on Higher Education

A lot of material – some of it tedious


What intellectual property is

What copyright is

How copyright is licensed

What common problems the use of the Internet presents to copyright holders and would-be licensees

What Fair Dealing is

What the Copyright Licensing Agency is

Creative Commons and Open Content


What is intellectual property?


“Intellectual Property (IP) is created when an idea takes some tangible form. IP can mean a brand, invention, design or other kind of creation and it can be legally owned..”

http://www.ipo.gov.uk/


Does Intellectual Property = Property?

The owner of intellectual property has rights over it

Intellectual property law protects those rights

Intellectual property rights come in two types: registered or unregistered

There are many kinds of intellectual property


What is copyright?


Copyright...

is a form of intellectual property

is an unregistered right – it comes into existence at the same time that the work is 'fixed'

protects the 'fixed' form of an idea, not the idea itself

protects literary and artistic material, music, films, sound recordings and broadcasts, including software and multimedia

generally does not protect works that are 'insubstantial' – thus names and titles are not protected (although a 'passing off' action may be a possibility)

gives the author exclusive economic and moral rights over the copyrighted material


What exclusive economic rights do authors have?

Making copies

Issuing copies to the public (publication, performing, broadcasting, online distribution)

Renting or lending copies

Adapting the work


What exclusive moral rights do authors have?

to be identified as the author of the work

to object to derogatory treatment of the work which would prejudicial to the honour or reputation of the author

to not be falsely identified as the author of a work

Though do note:

Moral rights must be asserted formally to anyone who receives the work

Moral rights can be waived

Computer programs, newspaper and magazine articles and material in reference works such as dictionaries do not come with moral rights


What if I'm employed to create copyright material?

Your employment contract will govern who owns the copyright, although the default position will be that your employer does

For University of Oxford employees the position is spelled out in the University Statutes XVI part b

Even works created outside working hours may be owned by your employer if they are of the same general type as you are employed to create

Beware! If you bring in contractors or consultants they will by default own the copyright in their work unless the contract you arrange says otherwise


When does copyright expire under UK law?

For literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, 70 years after the death of the author

For films, the 70 years after the last death of principal director, the authors of the screenplay and dialogue, and the composer of any music specially created for the film

For sound recordings, 50 years after the year or production or the year of publication, whichever is later

For broadcasts, 50 years after first broadcast

For the layout of publications, 25 years after publication

Note: all terms calculated from the end of the year in question

Also note: The duration of copyright protection has changed several times over the last decades, meaning that some authors have enjoyed renewed copyright.


So what can an author do with their copyright?

They can sell it – although any moral rights will always remain with the original author unless they waive them

They can license it...


How is copyright licensed?


What's a copyright licence and how do I get or give one?

A copyright licence is an agreement between a copyright owner (licensor) and another person or group (the licensee)

This agreement permits the licensee to do things which would otherwise be protected actions under intellectual property law

Thus a copyright licence might permit the licensee to copy the work, communicate it to the public, adapt it or perform it (or any combination of those)

The terms of copyright licences typically limit elements like the duration or the geographical extent of the grant of rights

Copyright licences can be exclusive or non-exclusive

The Creative Commons project provides ready-made copyright licences that may be suitable for your needs


What common problems does the internet present to content users?

Copyright in Online Resources:A Course For Content Users

What can one do with material on the internet?

Making material available on a publicly accessible web site would strongly imply universal permission to perform the restricted activities necessary to view it; for example making a copy in memory on a client machine and storing the material in a disk cache for easy recall.

Posting to a mailing list would also probably imply permission to reproduce your material in replies to that mailing list via quotation

Placing material on the internet does not imply the granting of permission to adapt, distribute or copy the work for other purposes

There is a common misapprehension that the internet is somehow a gateway to the 'Public Domain'. In fact in UK law there is no such thing as the 'Public Domain'.


Some examples

“I've found material on the internet that I want to substantially reproduce or adapt”

“I want to link to an external resource”

“I want to digitise something that's out of copyright and put it on the internet”

“I want to make limited use of someone else's material, such as a quotation in a review”

“I want to scan copyright material and place it on the internet for a course that I teach”

“I want to reuse something that I think is 'open content'”


“I've found material on the internet that I want to substantially reproduce or adapt”

Is the copying substantial? This must be judged in terms of both the quantity and quality of the copied material

Identify the copyright owner and ask for their permission

The fact that it is generally available on the internet is not an indicator that it can be used without permission from the copyright owner

If you can't identify or contact the copyright owner, you cannot obtain permission and thus cannot use the material

Copyright holder representative organisations can often be useful in tracking down their members; try the Society of Authors, the Copyright Licensing Agency or the author's literary agent (Google)


“I want to link to an external resource”

Linking to the front page of a site is always acceptable

Hyperlinks for 'deep linking' (linking directly to a page within an external site) should contain acknowledgement of the external resource to avoid giving the impression to users that you take credit for or are responsible for the contents of that page

Hyperlinking in a derogatory manner or in such a way as to misrepresent the linked resource could be a violation of the external resource's author's moral rights

External link redirecting – as used by sites like the BBC – can be a good technical solution to this problem


“I want to digitise something that's out of copyright and put it on the internet”

Are you sure that both the material and its presentation are usable without permission?

The resulting digitised materials may or may not be copyright in themselves

Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp. established that high quality digital reproductions of images that were out of copyright were not themselves protected under US law. On appeal, Bridgeman Art Library argued that UK law should be applied. The US court rejected this suggestion, while noting that as far as it could see UK law did not support Bridgeman's argument.


“I want to make limited use of someone else's material, such as a quotation in a review”

Pay attention in the next section on Fair Dealing!


“I want to scan copyright material and place it on the internet for a course that I teach”

Pay attention in the next-but-one section on the Copyright Licensing Agency!


“I want to reuse something that I think is 'open content'”

Pay attention in the final section on Creative Commons and Open Content!


What is 'Fair Dealing'?


What is Fair Dealing?

Similar to the well-known phrase from US law 'Fair Use'

'Fair Dealing' is a term which describes certain uses of a copyright work under certain defined circumstances. Provided that these circumstances are in place, no permission for this use is required from the copyright owner.

The 'Fair Dealing' exceptions can be read in full in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (and subsequent amendments)

On the following slides some of these exceptions will be described briefly.

Refer to the Act to find the precise detail of the exceptions, and for some others not mentioned here


What are the Fair Dealing exceptions?

Research and private study

A "reasonable proportion" of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work can be copied provided that only one copy is made for non-commercial research

Criticism, review and news reporting

any copyright material may be copied provided that acknowledgement of the source is made in the resulting material (with the exception of sound recordings and film in used current events reporting, where no acknowledgement is necessary)

Photos are excluded from the current event reporting exception, acknowledged or not.


What are the Fair Dealing exceptions? (continued)

Things done for purposes of instruction or examination

Literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works may be copied if the copying is done by the instructor themselves and the method of reproduction is not reprographic

Sound recordings and films may be copied if the copying is done by the instructor themselves and the subject being taught is the making of films or film soundtracks

Nearly all protected activities relating to setting questions for exams, making questions available to examinees and answering those questions are permitted (only copying sheet music for performance in an exam is not)

Materials generated under this exception (things done for purposes of instruction or examination) become infringing copies if they are subsequently sold, hired or communicated to the public.


What are the Fair Dealing exceptions? (continued)

Exceptions involving libraries and librarians

Librarians can make single copies of periodical articles and sections from literary, dramatic or musical works for library users provided that they are satisfied that the user will be covered by the 'Research and Private Study' exception (a statutory form of words exists which can be obtained from the library in question and signed by the library user).


Anything else?

Copyright (Visually Impaired Persons) Act 2002 amends the 1988 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act to allow a visually impaired person to make and keep 'a single accessible copy for personal use'. Certain approved organisations are also permitted to make accessible copies of works and distribute them to visually impaired users.

In some circumstances the actions of a copyright holder may create an 'implied' licence. For example, posting to a mailing list would almost certainly imply permission from the author to the list subscribers to keep a local copy of the posting and quote it in further postings of their own.


What is the Copyright Licensing Agency?


What is the Copyright Licensing Agency?

A Licensing Body

A company owned by organisations representing authors and publishers

It sells licences to other organisations who need to copy extracts from books, journals and magazines

Some publishers are not represented, and must be negotiated with separately

Some publishers who are represented nevertheless exclude their works from being scanned (currently DK, Penguin, and all their subsidiaries)

For Higher Education it provides a 'blanket' licence which permits photocopying and scanning of extracts within certain conditions

This licence is called the ‘Comprehensive HE Licence'


What are the terms of the Comprehensive HE Licence?

Photocopies and scans may be made from published works or from photocopies of published works as long as no more than one copy is made per student on the relevant course, and the extent of the copying does not exceed:

One chapter from a book

One article from a periodical

One short story or poem of under ten pages from an anthology

One case from a compilation of judicial proceedings



Scans of material can be made (to the same extent as photocopying) with the following additional conditions:

A 'Designated Person' must undertake the scanning (can be specified by job type)

Distribution of electronic copies must be via a securely authenticated download system

If there is a more practical way of getting a digital copy of the material (like a commercially available electronic copy) the Designated Person needs to record a reason why they are not using it before making a scan

Prominent copyright notices and attribution in an agreed form must be attached to all digital copies



More scanning conditions:

The digital copy must represent the physical original faithfully

Scans must be made from the most current edition, unless there is a sound pedagogical reason to choose a previous edition

The collection of scanned digital resources must be audited regularly. Material which is no longer needed for any course, or which has been excluded as a result of a change in the terms of the licence must be deleted.

Scanning can be contracted out provided that the contractor also obeys the terms of the licence

Sections may be blanked out for academic/testing purposes



Yet more scanning condition:

A record must be made of every act of scanning. The CLA requires a bi-annual return showing this information

HE institutions who have the same licence from the CLA may provide scanned items to each other to avoid duplication of effort


What's currently excluded?

works published in certain countries and by certain publishers (see web site)

printed music (including the words);

maps, charts or books of tables;

workbooks, work cards and assignment sheets;

privately owned documents issued for tuition purposes and limited to clientèle who pay fees;

newspapers;

industrial house journals and other free publications primarily for employees of commercial businesses, industrial undertakings or public services;

any work on which the copyright owner has expressly and prominently stipulated that it may not be copied under this Licence.


Anything Else?

Christian Copyright Licensing International (Hymns etc)

Mechanical Copyright Protection Society (Recordings)

Newspaper Licensing Agency (Newspapers)

Performing Rights Society (Public performance of music)

The Ordnance Survey (Maps)

See www.cla.co.uk/copyrightinformation_directory.php


Creative Commons and Open Content


What is Creative Commons Licensing?

Founded in 2001 by Prof Lawrence Lessig at the University of Stanford

Provides general, regionalised copyright licences for use by copyright owners

Creative Commons licences are permissive compared to a standard commercial copyright licence

The Creative Commons web site provides a step-by-step guide to selecting and applying a CC licence to your work

The aim of the Creative Commons project is to create a large body of copyright work which can be easily adapted and reused

The project was formed as a response to the perceived wasting away of the concept of the 'public domain' under US law


What kinds of licences do Creative Commons provide?

All Creative Commons licences mandate attribution of the copyright owner (Attribution)

A CC licensor can specify that their work cannot be copied or adapted for use in a commercial work (Non-Commercial)

A CC licensor can specify that any adaptations or copies must be licensed under the same licence (Share-alike)

A CC licensor can specify that no adaptations (derivative works) may be made from their work (No Derivatives)


This leads to six possible combinations:

Attribution alone (by)

Attribution + Noncommercial (by-nc)

Attribution + NoDerivs (by-nd)

Attribution + ShareAlike (by-sa)

Attribution + Noncommercial + NoDerivs (by-nc-nd)

Attribution + Noncommercial + ShareAlike (by-nc-sa)


Anything else?

Embedded RDF licence summaries allow search based upon reuse possibilities

Licences come with simple language summaries of their terms

More licences...


Anything else?

CC0 – a legal document that attempts to waive all IP rights in a given work. In jurisdictions where this cannot be achieved (like the UK) it falls back upon a broad non-exclusive worldwide licence for all.

CC+ - a dual-licensing mechanism in which a work is advertised as being available under both a CC licence and another, possibly more useful commercial licence.

A suite of Sampling licences which facilitate the use of extracts of music in other music

A Music Sharing licence that permits the sharing of music, but not its sale


Anything else? (continued)

Science Commons – a project designed to increase the amount of scientific data available for reuse.

ccLearn – a project attempting to lessen the legal, technical and social barriers to sharing, adaptation and reuse of learning materials

MIT Open Courseware - Free lecture notes, exams, and videos from Massachusetts Institute of Technology released under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 (United States).

Flickr – large tagged repository of digital photographs, many Creative Commons licensed.


GNU Free Documentation License

A Copyleft Licence

Used on the content of Wikipedia

Can be onerous in that printed works that include GFDL'd content must also include the entire text of the licence.


How Do I Attribute?

Keep intact all copyright notices for the Work and give the original author 'credit reasonable to the medium'

Convey the title of the work if supplied

Include an URL for the work as long as the version of the work at the URL includes ownership and licensing information

In an adaptation explain the use made of the work and credit the original author as prominently as the adapter

Credit may be implemented 'in any reasonable manner'


The EndQuestions or Discussion?


LinksUK Intellectual Property Office – http://www.ipo.gov.uk/home.htm

OULS Copyright FAQ - http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/ulsd/oxonly/copyright/copyrightfaq.htm

University of Oxford Statues covering IP issues – http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/statutes/790-121.shtml

JISC Electronic Fair Dealing Guidelines – http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/services/elib/papers/pa/fair/intro.html

JISC Legal – http://www.jisclegal.ac.uk/

Museums Copyright Org © Expiration Flowchart - http://www.museumscopyright.org.uk/private.pdf

The Society of Authors – http://www.societyofauthors.org/

Writers, Artists and Their Copyright Holders - www.watch-file.com

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 - http://www.patent.gov.uk/cdpact1988.pdf

Copyright (Visually Impaired Persons) Act 2002 - http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2002/20020033.htm

Copyright Licensing Agency - http://www.cla.co.uk/

Creative Commons – http://www.creativecommons.org

Creative Commons Content Search - http://search.creativecommons.org/

GNU Free Documentation License - http://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses/fdl.html

OSS Watch – http://www.oss-watch.ac.uk

This presentation: http://www.slideshare.net/crmwilson/copyright-in-online-resources-users


Appendix:

What does the University of Oxford claim of your

work?


How does the University claim rights to work?

Employment and studentship agreements 'import' the statutes of the University of Oxford

Signature of such agreements indicates assent to the statutes

The statutes cover many topics including IP

The statutes lay out whose work is claimed, and the varieties of work that are claimed.

For a work to be claimed it must be both of the prescribed kind and created by a prescribed kind of individual (and not specifically excluded).

Assent to the statutes includes assent to sign any necessary additional licences required by the University


Whose work is claimed?

Employees creating © work in the course of their employment

Students creating © work in the course of (or incidentally to) their studies

Anyone else who, “as a condition of their being granted access to the University's premises or facilities” has agreed in writing to be bound by the IP statutes

Contractors creating © work during the course of (or incidentally to) their contracted work


What kinds of work are claimed?

(1) works generated by computer hardware or software owned or operated by the University;

(2) films, videos, multimedia works, typographical arrangements, field and laboratory notebooks, and other works created with the aid of university facilities;

(3) patentable and non-patentable inventions;

(4) registered and unregistered designs, plant varieties, and topographies;

(5) university-commissioned works not within (1), (2), (3), or (4);

(6) databases, computer software, firmware, courseware, and related material not within (1), (2), (3), (4), or (5), but only if they may reasonably be considered to possess commercial potential; and

(7) know-how and information associated with the above.


What kinds of work are not claimed (even if they are caught in the definitions on the previous page)?

artistic works, books, articles, plays, lyrics, scores, or lectures, apart from those specifically commissioned by the University;

audio or visual aids to the giving of lectures; or

computer-related works other than those specified on the previous page

Copyright in Online Resources:A Course For Content Authors

What does “specifically commissioned by the University” mean?

“works which the University has specifically employed or requested the person concerned to produce, whether in return for special payment or not”

Excludes works commissioned by Oxford University Press, for which separate agreements are likely to be made