Date: 05/04/2023
Supervisor: Sarah Lewis
Format: Online
Time: 1 hr
Organisers: Australian National Copyright Unit (NCU)
Level: Australian school librarians.
Subject Area: Copyright, statutory licensing, Creative Commons and open education resources
Objective: Familiarisation with Australian education copyright regimes
Reason for attending: Comprehension of school copyright parameters and ownership rights, particularly in creating alternative resources.
What was learnt:
In conjunction with trademarks, patents and industrial designs, copyright is a form of Intellectual Property (IP) in which creative assets are legally protected.
Copyright pertains to “rights in certain creative material such as text, artistic works, music, computer programs, sound recordings and films” (Smartcopying, n.d.-a, para 1). The creator has the right to define how within artistic, literary, musical or dramatic work their material is used, communicated or shared. Schools regularly utilise creative works of texts, software, films, videos, podcasts and other learning resources to educate and must be conversant with IP and copyright regarding licensing, communication, reproduction, digital downloading and copying.
The Copyright Advisory Group (CAG) for schools (CAG Schools) and TAFE (CAG TAFE) are dependent on The National Copyright Unit (NCU) as the preliminary copyright team responsible for copyright policy and administration for Australian education. It supports school and TAFEs on copyright practice regarding consultation and administration of “statutory and voluntary licences with copyright collecting societies” on their behalf (Smartcopying, n.d.-b, para 3) and collaborates on policy issues within the Education Department and Australian Government. The CAG also advises schools on management and execution of copyright measures incorporating Open Education Resources, accessible instructional tools licensed under Creative Commons (CC), in which owner’s copyright is preserved but some public use is allowed. CC is the intermediate element between copyright and the public domain in which there are no restrictions on use of work.
Relationship to work or study:
Within the school environment it is essential to be conversant with copyright guidelines to advise staff and students of legal parameters and best practices, and for labeling and attribution in access of resources, available online through the CAG educational resources. (Smartcopying, n.d.-c). Within the patron digital toolkit I am preparing I am providing a brief tutorial on the difference between traditional copyright, creative commons and the public domain, particularly for senior students preparing to embark on tertiary journeys.
In both the school and public library sphere there are allowances and provisions above general copyright standards in which material is used for research or study. As long as the information copied or communicated “does not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests” of the owner” (Lewis, 2023) and is considered “fair dealing” (Smartcopying, n.d,-d, para 1) directives indicate that 10% or one chapter of a printed text may be copied or communicated for education purposes. If a whole work is not commercially available in a required purchasable format, such as an audiobook version for students with reading challenges, it is permissible to legally recreate and share the work. Awareness of this exception was the foundation for the 2022 professional development training and production undertaken in Camtasia.
References
Smartcopying. (n.d.-a). Copyright basics: what is copyright? https://smartcopying.edu.au/guidelines/copyright-basics/what-is-copyright/
Smartcopying. (n.d.-b). Students and copyright. https://smartcopying.edu.au/students-and-copyright/
Smartcopying. (n.d.-c). Schools. https://smartcopying.edu.au/schools/
Smartcopying. (n.d.-d). Copyright exceptions. https://smartcopying.edu.au/guidelines/copyright-basics/copyright-exceptions/