Productivity Commission study on the parallel importation of books
Copyright Society seminar: The Year in Review
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Recent Q&As on copyright for education and teaching
In these Q&As, we assume you are familiar with the basic copyright principles in our introduction to copyright
| question | answer | more |
|---|---|---|
| Can a school record the Olympics to show in class? | Yes, provided:
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| Can we show YouTube videos in class? | In our view, you can show a YouTube video to a class, provided:
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| Can we download a YouTube video to show in class? | There
are three legal issues: infringement of copyright, breach of contract,
and circumvention of a technological protection measure. Copyright: Section 200AB of the Copyright Act can allow an educational institution to download a YouTube video without infringing copyright. The criteria for section 200AB are complex, but they are more likely to apply if:
Contract: YouTube’s Terms of Use prohibit downloading videos from the YouTube site. You can get access to the content on YouTube's website, however, without looking at the Terms of Use. If you are not aware of the Terms of Use, and have not accepted them, then they are unlikely to be legally binding on you. If, on the other hand, you have accepted the Terms of Use – for example, by signing up – then you will be covered by a contract with YouTube and downloading videos would appear to breach that contract. TPM circumvention: We understand that downloading a YouTube video requires circumvention of a technological protection measure (TPM) intended to prevent copying of the video. While circumventing such a TPM is not prohibited by the Copyright Act (provided the measure does not also control access to the content), making a circumvention device for someone else, and/or supplying a circumvention device or service is prohibited by the Copyright Act. There will soon be information about YouTube on the Smartcopying website. | |
| Can we make available on the school intranet a CD-ROM attached to a book we purchased? | 1. Is the use licensed by the owner of copyright? Check the licence conditions (terms of use) on the packaging and/or in the contents of the CD-ROM. You use may be allowed by the copyright owner. 2. If not, is the use allowed under the Copyright Act? If your school is covered by a remuneration notice with Copyright Agency Limited, you may be entitled to copy and communicate works stored on the CD-ROM under the electronic use scheme in Part VB of the Copyright Act. You will need to assess the application of the scheme in relation to each work on the CD-ROM, and meet the requirements of the scheme. In some cases, section 200AB may allow the use of works on the CD-ROM. 3. If it is, are you covered by a contract that prohibits the use? In some cases the terms of use will be part of a contract between you and the CD-ROM publisher (for example, if you do something to indicate your acceptance of the terms of use). If the terms of use prohibit your use, and are part of a contract, you may be in breach of the contract even if the use is allowed by the Copyright Act. | |
| Can an educational institition digitise its map collection? | Provided
the institution is covered by a remuneration notice with Copyright
Agency Limited, it can digitise a map under the hardcopy scheme in Part
VB of the Copyright Act if the map:
The institution can communicate the digitised copy of a map (for example, via secure intranet) under the electronic use scheme in Part VB, provided the requirements of that scheme are met. These include a warning notice with each communication. If a map is commercially available, Part VB does not the copying or communication of it, even if it is not available in the format you want. In some cases, section 200AB may apply. | |
| Can a school publish book covers on its website to promote the books for reading? | Some
book covers are not protected by copyright. Others are, usually because
they include artistic works such as illustrations or logos. The publisher may license the inclusion of the cover on a school website: check the publisher’s website. If the cover accompanies a review of the book, including it on a website with the review may be a fair dealing for criticism or review. Part VB could allow the inclusion of the cover on a secure school intranet, provided all the requirements are met. It would not allow the school to digitise a printed cover, however, if a component artistic work is commercially available (for example, the cover includes a photograph licensed by a photo library). In some cases, section 200AB could allow the publication on a secure school intranet. | |
| Can a teacher publish book covers on a personal website? | Some book covers are not protected by copyright. Others are, usually
because they include artistic works such as illustrations or logos. The publisher may license the inclusion of the cover on a school website: check the publisher’s website. If the cover accompanies a review of the book, including it on a website with the review may be a fair dealing for criticism or review. | |
| Can teachers bring their own MP3 music files to school to put in PowerPoint presentations for class? | In this situation, the music would be reproduced into the Powerpoint, and then performed to the class when the powerpoint is shown. Are these uses licensed by the copyright owner? Check the copyright owner’s terms of use for the MP3file: the teacher’s use may be allowed by the terms of use. Are these uses allowed under the Copyright Act? If the institution is covered by a remuneration notice with Screenrights, the reproduction could be allowed under Part VA if the MP3 file is a recording, or a copy of a recording, made from a broadcast for educational purposes. Otherwise, section 200AB could, in some cases, apply. Section 200AB is more likely to apply if the particular piece of music is necessary for the teaching outomes of the presentation and a licence is not available. The performance of the music, by showing the PowerPoint presentation, would be allowed under section 28 of the Copyright Act. AMCOS/ARIA agreement Many educational institutions are covered by agreements with AMCOS and ARIA that allow certain uses of recorded music, such as recording school concerts. The agreements do not, however, apply to MP3 files. Are these uses prohibited by a contract? The teacher may be legally bound by a contract that prohibits this use. This is likely to be the case if the teacher has purchased the MP3 file as a download. Using the MP3 file in a PowerPoint for class may breach the contract, even if the use does not infringe copyright. | |
| Can we give away decommissioned CD-ROMs from our school library to teachers for use at home? | Yes, provided the school is not bound by a contract that prohibits it giving the CD-ROMs away. It is also advisable to tell the teachers that they may use the CD-ROMs only as allowed by the Copyright Act and/or by the terms of use for CD-ROM. | |
| Can our school’s music department record a concert and post it to YouTube? | Recording the concert A school that is covered by the AMCOS/ARIA licence can record a concert for educational purposes. The school can distribute the recording to its students to assist them in class or as a commemorative recording of a performance (to be played at home or at school only, not in public). You also need the consent of all the performers. Posting the recording to YouTube The AMCOS/ARIA licence does not allow schools to post a recording of a concert to YouTube. If the recording is only of live performances of music in the public domain, you do not need a copyright clearance for the music. If all or some of the music performed is still in copyright, you need a copyright clearance for the posting from the music publisher. If any recorded music was played at the concert, and this is included in the recording of the concert, you will also need a clearance from the record company. Either or both of these clearances may be difficult to get. | |
| Can a teacher video-stream a commercially produced DVD to a class? | This depends on the type of technology being used to facilitate the streaming. The Copyright Act allows you to play a commercially produced DVD in class where the instruction is not for profit, and to “communicate” it electronically (for example, by streaming). However, unless the DVD is a “Screenrights copy” (that is, a copy of something broadcast on TV), in most cases the Copyright Act would not allow you to copy it onto the server or content management system you are using in order to stream it. In most cases, copying a commercially-produced DVD would involve circumventing an access-control technological protection measure (such as CSS), and this is prohibited by the Copyright Act. If the DVD is not protected by an access-control technological protection measure, you may be able to copy it in order to stream it for a class under the “special case” exception for educational institutions. You are more likely to be able to rely on this exception to copy the DVD if:
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More
- more Q&As
- our education page
- Smartcopying website (MCEETYA Copyright Advisory Group).