US Introduces New Copyright Exemptions
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Q&As for writers of training materials
This information is for general guidance only; it is not legal advice.
If you are preparing training materials for:
First read:
copyright basics webpage
- Training materials information sheet
If you are preparing training materials for:
- an educational institution or training organisation, Part VB of the Copyright Act (which allows the use of text, images & notated music for educational purposes) may apply: more here
- a Commonwealth, State or Territory government department or agency, section 183 of the Copyright Act (which allows use of copyright material for government purposes) may apply: more here.
| question | date | answer | more | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I was commissioned to write a training manual for a client. Who owns copyright in the manual? | 1/2/2008 | If you are commissioned, as an individual, to create a
training manual, you will own copyright, unless your client is a
Federal, State or Territory government or agency, or you reach an
agreement to the contrary. Outside these situations, the client won’t own copyright but will “get what it paid for”. This would generally include the right to be able to use the material for the purposes for which it was commissioned. | Training materials | QA0179 |
| Do I need permission to include a product shot from a manufacturers’ websites in a training manual I am preparing? | 1/2/2008 | A photograph – including a product shot – is likely to be protected by copyright, and it is likely that you need permission to include it in a training manual. There may be terms of use for the photograph on the website. If the terms of use do not cover your use, contact the website proprietor for information about who to approach for copyright permission. |
When you need copyright permission | QA0084 |
| Can I reproduce someone else’s training materials if I change them a little? | 1/2/2008 | Generally, unless the work is very simple and obvious, you do
not avoid infringement by making changes. Even if you make changes, you
may still be reproducing an important or distinctive part of the
material. If your version is the result of substantial reliance on a
copyright owner's work, it is likely to infringe copyright. If you
follow the structure and approach of the original manual, you may still
be infringing copyright even if you have not reproduced the text word
for word. | Training materials: legal protection | QA0180 |
| How can I prevent other people from copying the new business methods I describe in my training materials? | 1/2/2008 | Concepts, methods and techniques are not protected by
copyright. As stated above, copyright protects the way someone
expresses themselves in describing a particular method or technique,
including the way they structure the information about the method or
technique – it does not protect the actual method or technique itself.
If the ideas and information are being made available in the form of
training materials, it is unlikely that any form of legal protection
will be available. In this case, you will need to rely on other
factors, such as the skill you use in preparing the materials, or in
presenting the ideas at training sessions, to protect your commercial
interests. | Training materials: legal protection | QA0181 |
| I want to use graphs, charts and maps from another source. Do I need to get permission? | 1/2/2008 | Generally, you need permission to reproduce such materials, or
any important or distinctive part of them. Graphs may be protected as
“artistic works” and tables may be protected as “compilations”, a type
of literary work. If you wish to reproduce the information from such a
work, you may need the copyright owner’s permission, even if you will
present it in a different format. Generally, the first point of contact in getting permission is the publisher. | QA0182 | |
| Can I include screen dumps in a computer manual that I have written? | 1/2/2008 | If you have created a computer manual and you are including
screen dumps from someone else’s program, you are likely to need their
permission. Some software manufacturers grant licences for this type of
use; for example, Microsoft has various blanket licences on its website
which allow its software to be used in certain ways for certain
purposes. Your first steps should be to check the terms on which the
software is licensed, and the website of the relevant company. | Training materials: legal protection | QA0183 |
| Can I include a cartoon from the newspaper in my training materials if I cite the source? | 1/2/2008 | It is likely that permission will be needed to reproduce a
cartoon in training materials. Citing the source is not a substitute
for obtaining permission. As discussed in this information sheet, in
addition to obtaining the copyright owner’s permission, it is in
general terms necessary to attribute the cartoonist. | Training materials: legal protection | QA0184 |
| Can I use clipart or Creative Commons content in my training materials? | 1/2/2008 | Whether distributed on purchased CD-ROMs or accessed
from internet websites, clipart is made available subject to a licence.
You will need to check the terms of the licence to find out whether it
permits you to use the clipart in the way you wish. If the licence does
not allow the use, or does not cover the situation, you will need to
contact the copyright owner for permission. If the clipart is on an internet website and you have any reason to think it may have been posted to the site without the copyright owner’s permission, you should be wary about using it. If the website proprietor does not have the copyright owner’s permission to make the clipart available, they are not able to give you valid permission to use it. Some material on the internet is distributed under Creative Commons licences. You will need to check the specific licence to see if you have permission to use the material in the way intended. | QA0185 |