• Copyright Policy
• Intellectual Property Regulations

Copyright Officer 

• Ingrid Unger
• library.copyright@vu.edu.au 

​Copyright Guide contact 

• Meg Weller 
• meg.weller@vu.edu.au 

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Welcome to this basic introduction to copyright law. We are all creators and users of copyright material. In particular this resource is aimed at university teaching staff. This resource will cover what copyright is, what copyright covers and what it doesn’t, you owns it and how long copyright lasts. There are special exceptions in the copyright act for ‘educational purposes’ and all teaching staff need to know the limitations when making work available for students. Copyright exists to encourage creative output, it protects original creative works and arises automatically on works being given material form. It is free, does not require registration and it applies whether or not the © symbol is displayed. Follow the link to watch a brief animation outlining what copyright covers, then return and press ‘play’ to continue. Follow the link to watch a brief animation outlining what is not covered by copyright, then return and press ‘play’ to continue. The author, creator or maker usually owns the original copyright. In some cases “owner” means an individual, such as the author of a book, in other cases multiple people are involved. For works created as part of your employment, rights are usually owned by the employer. Copyright ownership can be transferred by licence or contract. Moral rights, including the right to proper attribution cannot be transferred & always stays with the creator. Copyright gives the exclusive rights to copy or reproduce a work, communicate a work to the public and adapt or perform a work to the copyright owner. If you are not the owner seek their permission. Copyright owners can opt to make their materials available for wider use under Creative Commons. Follow the link to watch a brief outline of duration, then return and press ‘play’ to continue. Universities have Statutory Licences which allow staff members to copy certain material for educational purposes.  This does not mean that anything and everything can be copied or put online. You can use original content, or content created by your university. You can find material that is in the Public Domain. Seek permission from copyright holders, if your use is not covered by the statutory licences. Find and use materials under Creative Commons licences. Further information can be sourced from Australian Copyright Council, National Library of Australia, and Australian Copyright Council. Remember to familiarise yourself with your institution’s copyright guides and policies, and for further information consult your institution’s copyright officer. Discalimer. The purpose of this resource is to provide general information regarding copyright in a university teaching context, it does not provide legal advice. Information contained in this resource is correct as at October 2017. New copyright amendments begin to come into effect in December 2017, which will affect copyright for teaching.