Murdoch Copyright Policy

Contents

Scope

1. Legislative Requirements
2. Copying under the Statutory Licence
3. Copyright and Printed Material
4. Digital Copies
   4.1 Warning Notices
   4.2 The Central Repository (ECMS and Streamed Lectures)
5. Digital Agenda Amendment
   5.1 Rights Management Information
   5.2 Circumvention Devices - Copyright Protection Measures
   5.3 Broadcast Decoding Devices
   5.4 Right of Communication to the Public
   5.5 Computer Software - Reproduction Allowed for Certain Purposes
6. Copying of Non-Print Media
7. Computer Software
8. Copyright and the Internet
9. Public Performance or Display of Copied Material
10. Moral rights
11. Digital Thesis
12. Copyright Payments and Income
    12.1 Copyright Payments
    12.2 Copyright Income
13. Infringing Material and Take Down Notices
    13.1 Action Where Infringing Material is Identified by the University
14. Licences and Remuneration Agreements
    14.1 Sample Surveys
15. Ownership of Copyright in Internally Produced Material
16. Penalties and Disciplinary Procedures

Responsibilities
Feedback
Modification History

Preamble

This document describes the policy for the use of copyright material at Murdoch University. Where such material has not been produced for or by Murdoch University (‘foreign content’), the copyright rests with the creator, author, publisher, or organisation responsible for preparing the material. Under the terms of the Act such material may be reproduced, subject to specific conditions, without reference to the copyright owner. The sections dealing with reproduction for educational purposes are Part VA and VB. It is these that provide the University with the statutory licences for reproduction.

The University is fully aware its duties and obligations under both the Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) and the remuneration agreements that it has entered into with copyright collecting societies. All use, reproduction, and distribution of copyright material undertaken by or at the direction of the staff of the University shall be in accordance with the provisions of the Act and the relevant copyright agreements in force. The use of University equipment, networks, facilities and/or premises for a purpose that infringes copyright is not permitted. Digital copying and communication of copyright material, where reproduced under the terms of the Part VA and/or Part VB of the Act being the statutory licence, may be conducted only through nominated central University repository/repositories.

Scope

This scope of this document is limited to defining responsibilities and standards for the management of copyright at Murdoch University. This includes the management of copyright costs and the disbursement of any income associated with copyright that is directed to the University, its Divisions or Schools. The copyright policy must be complied with by all Murdoch University staff and student members.

1. Legislative Requirements

The University is bound by the Commonwealth Copyright Act 1968 (the Act). In addition, it has entered into several licence agreements which assist it to meet its obligations in respect of certain provisions of the Act.

The Act covers the use of copyright works in respect of photocopying of print material, copying sound recordings, videos, films, radio and television transmissions, and computer programs, as well as performing works or playing sound recordings or showing films or videos in public. The Act also applies to activities on the University intranet, the Internet and the World Wide Web.

Staff members have an obligation to ensure that they are familiar with the provisions of the Act and to comply with the same.

The procedures supporting this policy are expanded upon in the University’s online copyright page at http://www.murdoch.edu.au/copyright/. The University Copyright Coordinator should be consulted for advice in all instances requiring interpretation of legislation, licence agreements, or procedures. The Copyright Coordinator is authorised to require staff to take steps to ensure compliance with the Act in accordance with the detailed procedures in this policy and the online copyright page.

Contact details for the Copyright Coordinator are:

Kate Makowiecka
copyright@murdoch.edu.au

ph: (08) 9360 7491
fax: (08) 9310 2780

Murdoch University
PO Box 1014
Canning Vale
Western Australia 6155

2. Copying under the Statutory Licence

According to the terms of Part VB of the Act, and in compliance with the terms of the remuneration agreement between Murdoch University and CAL (Copyright Agency Limited), the University is licenced to carry out single and multiple copying (including digital copying) of some copyright material. The licence also covers administrative copying.

Subject to stipulated reproduction limits, the making of single or multiple print copies of a work is permitted, provided the copy is made by or on behalf of Murdoch University for the educational or administrative purposes of Murdoch University. The copy may not be sold at a profit.

3. Copyright and Printed Material

The Act protects most printed material. Copying of print material is allowed under the following four main provisos.

• Copying done by individuals under the 'fair dealing' provisions of the Act (see sections 40-43 of the Act).
• Copying done by libraries of items held in their collections or obtained on interlibrary loan for eligible individuals. This copying requires the signing of a declaration form by the requestor (see sections 49 and 50 of the Act).
• Copying done with the express permission of the owner of copyright. This may involve payment of royalties or fees.
• Copying under the terms of statutory licences done by educational institutions that are signatories to the Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) agreement.

More detailed explanation, particularly explanation of the reproduction limits, is available at the online copyright web page.

4. Digital Copies

Staff and students must ensure that when communicating information over the University network, or to third parties outside the University, they have the right or the authority to do so. Staff members are permitted to make digital copies of print material available under Part VB of the Act and the CAL licence, with certain conditions attached. To ensure compliance with these conditions digital copies of material copied under the licence and made available online must only be made available via the Electronic Course Materials Service (ECMS) or Lectopia or another authorised repository. Digitised copyright material that has been copied under the statutory licence may not be made available on publicly accessible websites. Further information on the ECMS and Lectopia is at section 4.2 below.

In addition to the reproduction limits, there are conditions attached to the communication of copyright material reproduced in digital form under the Part VB statutory licence. These are that:

• A remuneration notice must be in force.
• The communication must be made solely for the educational purposes of the University.
• Each licenced electronic copy and licenced communication must contain the Warning Notice as prescribed in the Copyright Regulations (see also section 4.1 below).
• The communication may be received or accessed only by people entitled to receive or access it, and not by members of the general public.
• No more than one reasonable portion of a particular work may be made available online at any one time. This limitation applies across the university, except for copying from periodical publications. In the case of periodicals, the limitation applies to teaching units rather than to the institution as a whole.

Material that is copied under the terms of the Part VA statutory licence (generally being material copied off-air from television, cable, satellite, or radio broadcasts) must conform to the conditions listed above, excepting the ‘reasonable portion’ limitation. There is no limit placed on the amount of material that may be copied under the Part VA licence.

Murdoch University members must ensure that they do not make use of or distribute unauthorised copyright material using the University computers or network.

Actions that infringe the Copyright Act include, but are not limited to:

• converting music CDs to MP3 or equivalent digital files and sharing those files with another person, except where this is permitted under the provisions of the Tertiary Music Licence;
• using CD or DVD writers to make unauthorised copies of music CDs or DVDs;
• downloading copies of music files or movies from unauthorised Internet distribution sites;
• distributing copies of copyright music or movies from your computer through standard file sharing and ‘peer to peer’ software.

The above actions also apply to other digital material such as video and images.

File sharing programs (for example, Kazaa, eDonkey or other peer to peer services) can transmit files on your computer to others, with or without your knowledge. You will be held responsible for any copyright infringements that occur as a result of accessing or having any file sharing programs on your computer.

4.1 Warning Notices

All digital reproductions of copyright material made available online under the terms of the statutory licences, including attachments to email communications, and material copied onto CD-ROMs, must be accompanied by the appropriate Warning Notice. The format of the Warning Notices is to be as prescribed by the Copyright Regulations: examples can be found at the copyright website.

Any Warning Notice must come to the attention of the user/recipient before or at the same time as the material referred to.

4.2 The Central Repository (ECMS and Streamed Lectures)

The central repository for digitised copyright materials required for student course work at Murdoch University is the Electronic Course Materials Service (ECMS or ‘e-reserve’). The ECMS is to be administered by the University Library.

A second repository may be used for the storage of streamed lectures (Lectopia), which may include foreign copyright content. The Teaching and Learning Centre (TLC) is responsible for the administration of Lectopia.

Additional repositories may be authorised as required.

5. Digital Agenda Amendment

Changes were made to the Act, many of them dealing with digital issues, and became effective as of 4 March 2001. Several of the key amendments affecting Murdoch University are detailed below.

5.1 Rights Management Information

Any information relating to the identification of the author, publisher or copyright owner which is on a publication of any type, including audiovisual material, must be preserved when the publication is reproduced by any means, either digitally or in hard copy, or when the publication is repackaged, recovered or otherwise presented. Rights management information may not be removed.

5.2 Circumvention Devices - Copyright Protection Measures

No member of the Murdoch University community is permitted to manufacture, market, advertise, sell, or supply devices intended to circumvent a manufacturer's protection measures on computer software (this is an offence under the Act), unless these acts are done for a permitted purpose. Permitted purposes include security testing, library activities, and activities assisting persons with a disability. Staff or students contemplating any activity involving circumvention devices must first check with the University Copyright Coordinator.

5.3 Broadcast Decoding Devices

The unauthorised manufacture, advertising, sale, marketing, use, or supply of devices intended to decode cable and satellite television transmissions is not permitted by members of the Murdoch University community, being prohibited by the Act.

5.4 Right of Communication to the Public

Apart from the limited communication permitted for libraries and educational institutions under the Act, and by the CAL and Screenrights licences, the communication of copyright material by any means, either physical or electronic, including via the Internet or the World Wide Web, is the exclusive right of a copyright owner.

Placing copyright material, unless it is owned by the University or authorised by the owner, on a publicly accessible website is an example of an infringement of this right.

5.5 Computer Software - Reproduction Allowed for Certain Purposes

Reproduction of computer software that is either owned by or licensed to the user is now permitted, for certain limited purposes, under the Act. These purposes include error correction, security testing, normal research or study, interoperability, backup copying, and to use the copy and store the original. These uses now include the reproduction of lookup tables and other literary works included in a program. Reproduction for purposes other than these remains a copyright infringement. Where there is any doubt as to the allowed purposes, the University Copyright Coordinator should be consulted.

6. Copying of Non-Print Media

The copying of a record, compact disc, DVD, minidisk, audio tape, film, video tape, television broadcast, radio broadcast, or computer program is prohibited by the Act, with the following exceptions.

• Where the copyright has expired. This should always be checked, however, as there may be several copyrights involved - particularly with music (and is unlikely in the case of computer programs as the technology is too new).
• With permission. Where the copyright owner has given permission to copy the terms and conditions of the permission or licence must be clearly understood and followed. A written record of the permission should be kept by person granted that permission, and a copy sent to the Copyright Coordinator.
• Educational broadcasts. Radio broadcasts intended by the broadcaster for educational use may be copied free of charge.
• Part VA copying. Off-air recordings of radio and television broadcasts, and satellite and cable transmissions may be made for educational purposes under the terms of Part VA of the Act and the current licence from Screenrights. Each reproduction must carry the appropriate label and may only be used by staff and students of the University.
• The Tertiary Music Licence. This licence makes provision for the performance, copying, and communication of some musical items when this is undertaken for the educational purposes of the institution. For the specific terms of the Music Licence please go to the Copyright Website.
• Fair dealing. When using a sound recording, film, television or radio broadcast for research and study, criticism or review, news reporting, or judicial proceedings the use must be ‘fair’. For details please consult the University’s copyright website, or the Copyright Coordinator.
• Public domain computer programs. Computer programs in the public domain may be copied, but care is required as some public domain material is in fact subject to conditional licence requirements, e.g. Shareware.
• Computer programs. Copying of computer programs is permissible only under certain circumstances (a description of these can be found on the University’s copyright website).

7. Computer Software

Notwithstanding any of the provisions contained in the sections above, the following policy applies to computer software used on Murdoch University premises.

• Murdoch University only uses computer software legitimately acquired, and licenses the use of its software from a variety of outside companies. The university does not own the copyright in this software or its related documentation and, unless authorised by the owner, does not have the right to reproduce either the software or accompanying manuals.
• Where software is used on local area networks or multiple machines, Murdoch University staff and students may use such software only in accordance with the licence agreement.
• Murdoch University staff learning of any illegal copying of software or related documentation within the organisation shall notify their department manager.
• Copying of computer software by an employee, or instructing another employee to copy software, without authorisation from the copyright owner, is in breach of the law and against Murdoch University policy. The University will under no circumstances tolerate the making or use of unauthorised copies by its staff. Such action can expose the staff member to disciplinary measures and possible legal action.
• Murdoch University staff are required to be aware that under Australian Copyright Law, unauthorised duplication of software can expose the University to fines of up to $250,000 and claims for civil damages, and can expose individual employees to fines of up to $60,500 together with possible jail terms and claims for civil damages.

8. Copyright and the Internet

Copyright law applies to all Internet transactions. Apart from any fair dealing for individual use, any material found on the Internet should not be used for any other purpose without a licence or written permission from the copyright owner. A record of any such permission should be kept by the person receiving it, and a copy sent to the Copyright Coordinator.

It should be noted that under the licence with the Copyright Agency Limited, it is possible to digitise materials for use for the teaching and administrative purposes of Murdoch University. The guidelines for such uses are not the same as for print copying (see also section 4 on the requirements for making digital copies).

For more comprehensive information regarding the copyright attached to material on the internet, please consult the Copyright Coordinator or the Murdoch University copyright website at http://www.murdoch.edu.au/copyright/.

9. Public Performance or Display of Copied Material

It is prohibited by the Act to perform works, play sound recordings, or show films, videotapes, or DVDs in public except:

• where copyright has expired. The facts must be carefully established, as there may be more than one copyright in effect.
• where the copyright owner has given licence or permission. The terms and conditions of the licence or permission must be followed exactly and a written record should be sent to the Copyright Coordinator.
• for educational instruction. A work may be performed, or played, for an audience of lecturers, tutors, and/or students of the institution for the educational purposes of the institution.
• under certain provisions of the Tertiary Music Licence.

There are some exceptions for sound recordings in residential colleges and clubs, but advice should be taken before proceeding.

10. Moral Rights

Moral Rights legislation was enacted in December 2000 as the Moral Rights Amendment to Part IX of the Act. The Act now details three specific rights held by the authors of works being (a) a right of attribution of authorship; (b) a right to not have authorship falsely attributed; and (c) a right of integrity of authorship. Moral rights are conferred on individuals only. The individual who created a work, who holds moral rights, is not necessarily the owner of copyright in the work.

The right of attribution gives the author of a work the right to be named as the author of that work. Failure to correctly attribute a work is an infringement of that author’s moral rights.

The right to not have authorship falsely attributed, either by putting someone else’s name on the work who is not the author, or by leaving the author’s name on an altered work is an infringement of the author’s moral rights.

The right of integrity gives the author of a work the right not to have the work treated in a derogatory way; that is, altered or changed in any way that will impugn the author’s honour or reputation.

(Note that there are some exceptions in relation to films completed before 21st December 2000. For further information, refer to the relevant information sheet on moral rights at http://www.copyright.org.au).

Murdoch University members are required then to show due care in all situations where the work of another is used, to ensure that the author’s moral rights are not infringed.

11. Digital Theses

A thesis is protected by copyright whether available in print or digitally. Except for limited circumstances defined in the Act, permission from the thesis author is required by anyone who wants to copy or communicate a student's work. For further details on this you may refer to University Legislation - Intellectual Property Regulation.

On submission of the digital copy of their thesis authors grant Murdoch University or its agents the right to make the thesis available in all forms of media but retain all proprietary, patent and future publication rights.

Parts of a thesis may have contents that are subject to other copyright restrictions. These parts or the whole document will be given restricted access and replaced with a bibliographic reference as appropriate in the digital version.

12. Copyright Payments and Income

Murdoch University has entered into remuneration agreements with a number of collecting societies, allowing the reproduction of copyright material under the terms of the statutory licences. Additionally, there is a range of licence agreements that the Divisions and Schools have entered into for the use of copyright material (for example, the University Library has a number of licence agreements in place for access to electronic journals). These agreements are contracts and the University has an obligation to abide by the terms of these contracts. Equally, the University is itself a producer of copyright material that is capable of generating income.

12.1 Copyright Payments

University copyright agreements are to be administered by the University Copyright Coordinator and all costs are to be met by the Copyright account. Where an agreement is entered into by a Division or School then it is expected that the Copyright Coordinator is to be consulted, but costs associated with the agreement are to be met by the Division or School.

12.2 Copyright Income

Income generated by the use of copyright material is to be dealt with in accordance with and subject to the terms of the University's Intellectual Property Regulations.

Notwithstanding the above, the CAL Publisher Payment is to be treated as central income derived from items published by Murdoch University. This income is to be retained by the Copyright account. Divisions, Schools or individual members of staff (where that member is the originator of the material) may apply to the Vice-Chancellor for their share of the publisher payment, subject to those charges detailed at section 3.4 of the Intellectual Property Regulations.

13. Infringing Material and Take Down Notices

The procedures for dealing with Take Down Notices and for dealing with infringing material identified by the University is guided by the AVCC’s resource paper of March 2007, ‘University IT Systems: Managing Liability for Transmitting, Caching, Hosting, and Linking to Copyright Material’, and the Copyright Act, 1968.

Where a copyright owner (which includes an exclusive licensee) believes that an infringement of copyright has occurred then the copyright owner, or an authorised representative, may issue a ‘Take Down Notice’ to the University. A copy of the ‘Take Down Notice’ can be found here.

The Copyright Coordinator is the University’s designated representative to receive notices in relation to copyright (“Designated Representative”).

The Take Down Notice must be:

• completed and signed by the copyright owner or the agent of the copyright owner;
• contain information reasonably sufficient to permit the University to contact the copyright owner or the agent of the copyright owner;
• in the following form or substantially in a relevant form prescribed in the Copyright Regulations 1969; and
• directed and sent to Designated Representative.

When the Designated Representative receives a Take Down Notice which is in accordance with this policy, the University will, except where such action may significantly and detrimentally affect students of the University, expeditiously remove or disable access to the copyright material which is the subject of the Notice prior to assessing its position and deciding whether to challenge the Notice.

The Designated Representative is to initiate the process required to determine whether proceedings, including disciplinary procedures or other application of sanctions, should be undertaken.

The Designated Representative will as soon as practicable after removing or disabling access to the copyright material, send to the relevant user:

• a copy of the notice of claimed infringement;
• a notice stating that the copyright material has been removed, or access to it disabled (or the relevant action that has been taken); and
• a notice stating that the user may within 3 months after receiving the copy of the notice of claimed infringement issue a counter-notice (which is described in more detail below) to the Designated Representative.

Where material is removed or access disabled, in response to a Take Down Notice or the like, the Designated Representative is to determine whether a copy of the files in question is retained.

The University reserves the right to dispute any Take Down Notice on any available ground, including that the copyright owner has not established to the University's satisfaction that:

1. the copyright owner (rather than the University or an employee of the University or some other person) is an owner or exclusive licensee of any relevant copyright in relation to the alleged infringing material; or
2. the alleged infringing material has been reproduced or communicated or otherwise used or dealt with by an authorised user in any way which infringes any relevant copyright. For example, where the material was reproduced under the terms of an express or statutory licence, or a fair dealing or other exception under the Act, then this would constitute grounds for disputing a Take Down Notice.

Where a dispute occurs, the Designated Representative is to ensure that the copyright owner is notified and that the terms of the dispute are outlined fully.

If a dispute relating to a Take Down Notice cannot be resolved by discussion and negotiation between the relevant copyright owner and the University then the University should keep an appropriate record of its position by advising the copyright owner in writing of the terms of the dispute and should in any case retain a preservation copy of the files the subject of the dispute.

Counter-notice

If a user receives a copy of a notice of claimed infringement from the University, the user may issue a counter-notice to the Designated Representative disputing the claims set out in the notice.

A ‘Counter-notice’ must be:

• completed and signed by the user or the user’s representative;
• substantially in a relevant form prescribed in the Copyright Regulations 1969; and
• directed and sent to Designated Representative within 3 months after the user receives the copy of the notice of claimed infringement.

If the University receives a counter-notice from a user in response to a notice of claimed infringement, the University must, as soon as practicable after receiving the counter-notice, send to the copyright owner or agent who issued the notice of claimed infringement:

• a copy of the counter-notice;
  and
  
• a notice stating that if the owner or agent does not, within 10 working days after the date the notice was sent, bring an action seeking a court order to restrain the activity that is claimed to be infringing, the University will restore, or enable access to, the copyright material on its system or network.

13.1 Action Where Infringing Material is Identified by the University

Where the University becomes aware of facts or circumstances that make it apparent, other than by means of a Take Down Notice, that it is (or is likely that it is) hosting, linking or providing services in connection with infringing reproductions or communications of, or other dealings in, copyright material by authorised users, then the University will take all steps that it would take under its take down procedure if it had received a Take Down Notice from a relevant copyright owner in connection with the same activity.

14. Licences and Remuneration Agreements

The Copyright Coordinator is responsible for the coordination and administration of University copyright policies and procedures ensuring the University’s compliance with legislative and contractual requirements. This includes the administration and management of copyright associated income, if any, and all required payments. Any income that might be derived from the use of University copyright material must be in compliance with the relevant University policies (e.g. the Intellectual Property Regulations).

14.1 Sample Surveys

The Copyright Coordinator is responsible for the coordination of periodic sampling surveys, as required, under the terms of the Remuneration Agreements.

15. Ownership of Copyright in Internally Produced Material

Ownership of copyright in material produced by members of the Murdoch University community is to be guided by the terms of the University's Intellectual Property Regulations.

Notwithstanding the terms of the legislation, material will often be produced collaboratively between staff, for example, or with financial assistance from private, commercial, or government bodies. Such cases may leave ownership open to interpretation and legal advice may be required. Where there is likely to be a question in the future regarding the issue of copyright ownership, then it is advisable to record, in writing, the terms of ownership that all parties agree to. As a general rule, the originator of the material will retain ownership unless she/he assigns this ownership to another party.

16. Penalties and Disciplinary Procedures

Members of the Murdoch University community are bound by the terms of the Copyright Act and are subject to Commonwealth and State law in relation to the use of copyright material. Members are also subject to the provisions of several University policies detailing the appropriate use of copyright material, Intellectual Property, and University facilities, including computing and networking facilities, at the University. Penalties for breach of copyright include the termination of a member’s access to the University facilities, including computing and networking facilities at the University.

The decision making process for disciplinary action is to be in accordance with the terms of the Human Resources Policy and Procedure Manual and Statute Number 23 – Student Discipline. The investigative process for suspected copyright infringement can be initiated by the Copyright Coordinator or the Copyright Coordinator can be contacted by any member of the University community for advice on suspected infringement. Where the Copyright Coordinator assesses an infringement has occurred that may require disciplinary action then the investigation report and any recommendation for further action is to be passed to the Pro Vice Chancellor Academic for consideration.

Responsibilities

Feedback

Feedback may be sent to copyright@murdoch.edu.au

Modification History