Copyright and research

Resources on theses, scholarly publishing, and conferences.

Copyright and research

Copyright and research

There are many ways that copyright can affect the publication or release of research work. Copyright affects the release of theses or dissertations, when third-party material is included within the research work. Copyright must also be considered when researchers are working on author agreements with publishers. Understanding how copyright intersects with research is a valuable skill throughout the different stages of a research plan.

☜Use the side menu to navigate through the copyright and research topics.

Queries about copyright may also involve matters related to authorship and research integrity or suspected misconduct. We strongly encourage researchers to review information on authorship and research integrity.

AI and Copyright

Guidance from the University of Melbourne Copyright Office on the use of generative AI.

Using generative AI at the University of Melbourne? Always be mindful of copyright:

  • Don’t upload third-party content (like books or articles) unless you have permission or it’s covered by a licence.
  • Indigenous cultural materials require informed consent before use.
  • Authors: Be cautious and informed when licensing your work for AI training.

This is a fast-moving and evolving area.  Be sure to keep current and informed by checking the full guidance here: AI and Copyright

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Publishing

There are many things to consider before choosing a publishing outlet. It is important to understand publishing agreements, licensing options and how to retain rights as an author. Resources across the University can assist in making informed publishing decisions.

Publishing checklist

Consider the following before deciding on a publishing agreement:

Understanding publishing agreements

Overview

Authors and publishers will generally have a publishing agreement (sometimes referred to as an author or licence agreement) in place when a work is published. As a copyright holder, it is important to be aware of available publishing agreements, look for publishing agreements that best suit current and future dissemination needs. This will help when deciding on a suitable publisher and will help when needing to negotiate further publishing needs.

Publishing agreements vary between publishers and will also vary depending on the type of work, e.g:  book, book chapter, journal article, conference paper, etc. Publishing agreements will also be impacted by the type of licensing scheme attached to the publication, such as, Open Access or behind a paywall.

A publishing agreement will generally cover information such as:

  • When the work will be published
  • The format the work will be published in (print or online or both)
  • How many print copies will be made available
  • If the author is entitled to any royalties, how they will be shared between the author and publisher, payment terms, etc.

The agreement will also address how copyright in the work will be managed.

Within a publishing agreement, authors are generally asked to warrant:

  • Ownership of the work and therefore ownership of the copyright.
  • Disclosure of the inclusion of any third-party copyright material (i.e. created by someone else), alongside clarification regarding permissions from the third-party for the material to be included in the completed work.
  • That the work contains no libelous or unlawful statements, does not infringe upon the rights or privacy of others and does not contain material or instructions that might cause harm or injury.

There are a number of ways in which copyright can be dealt with under an agreement, some of which are more common in certain disciplines or types of published works than others. Speak with peers, colleagues, faculty research offices and or faculty or school librarian for further information on discipline-specific publishing agreements.

Negotiating author rights

Authors and creators of works are entitled to negotiate certain rights with a publisher. These may include:

  • The right to adopt a rights retention strategy
  • The right to deposit an Open Access copy of the work in an institutional repository (with or without an embargo period)
  • Exemptions for teaching and educational purposes
  • The right to reuse figures, images, and tables from the work in future publications.

Funder requirements can be useful when negotiating changes in publishing agreements. For example, both the Australian Research Council (ARC) and National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) have open access policies requiring grant-funded to be made open access. See the Library’s Funder Open Access Policies page for more information on the requirements of each policy and pathways to compliance. Flag this requirement as early as possible so as to ensure that the publishing agreement aligns with funder policies.

Remember that negotiations with publishers may not go as planned. However, there is nothing to lose by having these conversations. For an insight into the negotiation of author rights, read more in this interview with Associate Professor Alysia Blackham from Melbourne Law School.

The Authors Alliance website offers many resources on publication contracts and rights reversion, including the Open Access ebook “Understanding and negotiating book publication contracts”.

Author assigns copyright to the publisher (copyright transfer agreement)

Generally, when publishing a book, the author grants the publisher a licence. Whereas it is common for authors to assign copyright in journal articles to the journal or publisher. This is a copyright transfer agreement, where the author grants all of their rights as author and copyright holder to the publisher. This means that the author may need to seek permission from the publisher to do any of the following:

  • Deposit an Open Access version into an institutional repository.
  • Make the published work available on their own website.
  • Share the published work with colleagues.
  • Teach the published work.

Sometimes, the publisher may grant the author limited rights, such as those described above. Assignment of copyright is generally permanent unless the agreement indicates otherwise.

If the author assigns copyright to the publisher; the publisher can also, at their discretion, enter into agreements with other parties to use the work. For example, the publisher could licence the work, so that it can be included in a subscription database or arrange for a translation to be made.

See example contract

Author grants publisher an exclusive licence

The author gives the publisher certain rights over their material for the term of the agreement. These rights are granted only to this publisher and might include the right to publish, communicate, and distribute the published work online and to sublicence. How long the agreement lasts can vary, some agreements can be indefinite or perpetual. If the licence includes the right to sublicence, the publisher can grant the rights given to them to a third party, for example to allow another publisher to publish the work in another territory. While the agreement is in place, the author cannot grant the same rights to anyone else.

See example contract

Author grants publisher a non-exclusive licence

Similar to granting an exclusive licence to the publisher, an author can also grant the same non-exclusive rights to another publisher or party. A non-exclusive licence means that more than one publisher could have the right to publish a work. However, there may be qualifiers within these licenses, such as confirming that one publisher has the right to first publication of the work.

See example contract

Publishing under a Creative Commons licence

If a publisher intends to publish the work under an open licence, typically a Creative Commons licence, then the work will be made freely available for further distribution under the terms of the licence. The publisher will likely ask for first publication rights, this may be under a non-exclusive or exclusive publishing agreement. If publishing under a more restrictive CC licence such as CC BY-NC-ND, the publisher may request that the remaining rights be exclusively signed over to them. In rare cases, publishers may also ask for a transfer of copyright to the publisher. To understand more about Creative Commons licences, see our page selecting a licence for your work.

See example contract

There is no publishing agreement

Some publishers do not use publishing agreements, in which case, they only have the right to publish the work for the purpose it was submitted. For example, if an author submits an article to a particular journal and there is no agreement in place, the publisher can only publish the article in the issue for which it was submitted. The publisher is not then able to re-publish the article in an annual collection of popular articles without the permission of the author.

Related topics

More information

Selecting a licence for your work

Overview

Creative Commons (CC) licences allow authors to nominate how they would like people to be able to use and reuse their work. Applying a CC licence to a work, signals to others how the copyright owner would like to be attributed if their work is reused.

More information can be found at Creative Commons Australia.

Creative Commons licences

The below table provides information on what each licence means for the author and/or copyright holder, and a generic sample text that can be included in a publication.

It is best practice to include the sample text, below at the beginning of a work, so that the rights being licenced are immediately clear to anyone, wishing to reuse the work. If possible, it is also useful to include a licence statement in the information on the landing page where works are hosted.

To find out which licence you would like to allocate to a work visit the Creative Commons licence chooser.

Licence What this means for the author/copyright holder Sample text for the inclusion in publication

Creative Commons Attribution

(CC BY)

This licence allows others to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon works, even commercially, as long as the creator is credited for the original work. This is the most accommodating of licences offered. Recommended for maximum dissemination and use of licenced materials.

This [insert item type] is licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third-party material in this [insert item type] are included under the Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material.

Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike

(CC BY-SA)

This licence allows others to remix, adapt, and build upon works even for commercial purposes, as long as the creator is credited and any new creations are licensed under the same, identical terms. This licence is often compared to “copyleft” free and open-source software licences. All new works based on the original will carry the same licence, so any derivatives will also allow commercial use. This is the licence used by Wikipedia. Therefore, this licence is recommended for materials that would benefit from incorporating content from Wikipedia and similarly licenced projects.

This [insert item type] is licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under a CC BY-SA licence.

The images or other third-party material in this [insert item type] are included under the Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material.

Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives

(CC BY-ND)

This licence allows others to reuse the work for any purpose, including commercially, however, it cannot be shared with others in adapted form, and credit must be given to the creator of the original material.

This [insert item type] is licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution No Derivatives 4.0 International Licence, which permits use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source and provide a link to the Creative Commons licence. If you make any changes to the work, you are not permitted to distribute the modified material.

The images or other third-party material in this [insert item type] are included under the Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material.

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial

(CC BY-NC)

This licence allows others to remix, adapt, and build upon works non-commercially.  Works made from this licence must attribute the creator and cannot be used commercially, however, derivative works do not have to be licensed on the same terms.

This [insert item type] is licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International Licence, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. Under this licence, you may not use the material for any commercial purposes.

The images or other third-party material in this [insert item type] are included under the Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material.

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

(CC BY-NC-SA)

This licence allows others to remix, adapt, and build works non-commercially, as long as the creator is credited and derivative works are licenced under the same identical terms as the original work.

This [insert item type] is licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. Under this licence, you may not use the material for any commercial purposes. If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under a CC BY-NC-SA licence.

The images or other third-party material in this [insert item type] are included under the Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material.

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives

(CC BY-NC-ND)

This licence is the most restrictive of these six main licences, only allowing others to download works and share them with others as long as the original creator is credited. Importantly the sharing of the work cannot be done as part of a commercial activity. Adaptations cannot be made to these works.

This [insert item type] is licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence, which permits use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source and provide a link to the Creative Commons licence. Under this licence, you may not use the material for any commercial purposes. If you make any changes to the work, you are not permitted to distribute the modified material.

The images or other third-party material in this [insert item type] are included under the Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material.

Licences and contracts

Within the copyright context, many different licences are used for a variety of purposes and/or circumstances. A licence is generally granted by a copyright owner (or on their behalf) giving a user or a group of users some or all rights to use copyright material for certain purposes. The conditions of the licence override the standard provisions of copyright legislation and users must always adhere to the stated conditions of the licence. Some of the different types of licences include:

Statutory licences (for educational purposes)

These are licences that are provided within the Copyright Act for use by certain groups for certain purposes. The most relevant for the University are the statutory licences for educational purposes. These are set up under Section 113P of the Act, and allow the University to copy and communicate copyright material for educational purposes.

Music licence

This is a licence between the Universities and the Music Collecting Societies of Australia that allows limited use of recorded music for educational purposes. For more information see the music licence.

Licensed databases

The University Library subscribes to a vast array of online information, such as databases and electronic journals. Each of these subscriptions is underpinned by a licence or a contract between the University and the database provider. The licence or contract will outline how the database can be used and by whom. Conditions of the licence for individual databases vary considerably. If using information from a licensed Library database for any purpose other than research or study, please contact the Copyright Office for advice.

Terms and conditions of use

Many websites, media items (CDs, DVDs, podcasts, software etc.) and printed publications contain a copyright statement or disclaimer and/or 'Terms and Conditions' statement which provide details of the permitted uses of the material. These terms and conditions should be strictly adhered to.

Creative Commons

Creative Commons is a way to licence copyright material, so that people can use this material in certain ways without having to seek permission. The licences allow the public to use material free of charge under the varying levels of restrictions that are outlined in the six standardised licences. Flickr.com - the popular photo sharing website - is an example of a web service using Creative Commons licences. Research these licences before applying them, so as to understand how the licences work and if they will work for any future iterations of any proposed research/works.

General waiver

Sometimes a copyright owner waives copyright by saying, for example, that their material may be freely used for any purposes, or for non-profit purposes only, etc.

Commissioning works

When commissioning or contracting someone to create a work, it is recommended that licencing agreements explicitly state the transfer limitations of any current research requirements or foreseen research/publishing requirements or uses. Transfer requirements need to be clearly explained, understood by all parties and signed. If not laid out and signed clearly the rights to the commissioned works could be owned by the creator, regardless of who paid for the work. The person commissioning the work may have an implied licence unless the contract/licence assigns copyright to someone else. The contract/licence may also specify when and how the work will be used. For information contact the Copyright Office or the Legal and Risk team.

For more information see Australian Copyright Council Information Sheet G024 Assigning & Licensing Rights.

Copyright and your thesis

Researchers own copyright in their thesis. Under copyright, researchers have certain rights in their thesis such as:

  • reproduction rights.
  • publishing rights.
  • communication rights, such as making the thesis available online.

As authors, researchers also have moral rights over their theses.

In some cases, research agreements or publishing agreements may affect the rights of a researcher's work, such as determining if a thesis can be made available on open access or if a thesis is connected to an embargo period.

Making a thesis available on open access

Before making a thesis available on open access, check that there are no legal or contractual qualifiers connected to the planned Open Access material release. Below are some possible examples:

  • The clearance of any third-party material rights when they are included in the thesis.
  • Any agreements/contracts, involving pre-published works.
  • Any pending patent applications.
  • The terms of research or funding agreements.
  • The inclusion of any politically or legally sensitive information.

Dealing with copyright material created by other people

Seek permission from the copyright owner before including third-party copyright material in a thesis, unless there is a licence, agreement or exception that allows the inclusion of the third-party works in the thesis. Permission does not need to be sought if:

  • Copyright in the work has expired.
  • An insubstantial portion is included, for example, quotes from a book or journal article. Be careful if using quotes or excerpts from short works such as songs, poems or pieces of music as small portions are less likely to be considered insubstantial.
  • An express license allows the inclusion of the work, in the thesis, e.g. a contract, website conditions.
  • Creative Commons material, copyright owner has explicitly waived copyright, etc.
  • Use is covered under fair dealing provisions.

Particular care should be taken if the thesis includes music, sound recordings or films as clearing the rights for this material can be difficult.

If unable to clear the rights for third party copyright material, it may be possible to publish a redacted version of the thesis on open access. A redacted version is one with any uncleared copyright material removed. For more information see the section on redacted version of your thesis.

Make sure that all third-party copyright material is acknowledged in theses, include full bibliographic citations.

Seeking permission to use copyright material

It is important to start the process of obtaining permission, as soon as possible when seeking permission to clear the rights to use third-party copyright material. Obtaining permission is an often lengthy and complex process. Sometimes a licensing fee may have to be paid, as it may not be possible to obtain permission.

All permission requests must be in writing. Keep copies of all permission documents as records of what permissions have been obtained. These records are considered legal documents and need to be kept for the copyright length of the thesis or as long as the thesis remains in open access. The University may request access to these permission documents.

Theses may need to be embargoed or published in redacted versions, where the third -party material has been removed while permission is being obtained or because permission cannot be obtained.

Refer to the Requesting permission from a copyright owner to reproduce material page for information on how to seek permission to use third-party copyright material.

Listing third party copyright material

The preparation of graduate research theses' rules requires the listing of all third-party copyright material included in theses and whether permissions from the copyright owners has been obtained. These permissions will be included in any open access version of theses. Third-party copyright includes:

  • Any images
  • Audio-visual material, including sound recordings – both musical and non-musical – or films.

When creating the list of third-party copyright material included in a thesis, please use the template for listing third party copyright material (DOCX 13.7 KB).

Conferences and public lectures

Presenting at a conference

If including third-party copyright, within a conference presentation make sure that rights to use the material are secured prior to the conference. There are limited provisions in the Copyright Act that allows the reuse of copyright material at conferences. A brief quote or short extract of text can be included without have to secure rights; see insubstantial portions. Also, rights do not have to be secured for material that is being critiqued or reviewed; see fair dealing for criticism or review.

Try and source material that is "copyright friendly". For example, Flickr has a wide range of photos licensed under Creative Commons, as does Google Images. See the following guides:

In most other situations permission from the copyright owner will have to be sought. When seeking permission clarify any potential uses, such as the intention to publish the conference paper or to upload the conference paper into an online environment.  Check with conference organisers if they plan to do any of the above or if they plan to record or stream the presentation. If presenters plan to do any of the above and third-party material is included in these presentation methods, permission will have to be sought from the third-party copyright holder explicitly stating how the material is going to be used, prior to the conference.

Additionally, presenters at conference have performers' rights if they are asked to record, stream or upload their presentations onto platforms.  Request a written explanation of how a recording will be used at a conference, before agreeing to be involved. Ideally there will be a formal agreement that presenters are asked to sign.

Organising a conference

If the University is hosting a conference, it is important that steps are taken to make sure that the conference is copyright compliant.

Obtain permission from presenters if there are requirements to record, upload or stream performances or if there is a requirement to upload their papers. The University's audio/video/photograph release and IP licence form can be used. The consent deed also allows the recording to be made available online.

Consent will need to be obtained If intending to film or photograph participants or presenters. The audio/video/photograph release and IP licence form covers both filming and photographing. The photo release consent deed is sufficient if only photographing the presenters. See the Copyright site's photographing or filming people page for more information.

If conference presenters have included copyright material created by other people in their presentation, they will need to make sure that they have the necessary rights to use that material. There are limited provisions in the Copyright Act that covers the reusing of third-party copyright material at conferences however, permission is generally required from the copyright owner. See insubstantial portions and fair dealing for criticism and review.

Permission will need to be obtained from the presenters prior to the uploading or publishing of conference presentation papers, videos, etc.  Please contact the Copyright Office for more information.

The University has a music licence that allows music to be performed at conferences and other events hosted by the University. For more information see the music licence.

If an external conference has hired a University venue for their conference and the University is not actually hosting the conference but is simply providing the venue, it is the responsibility of the conference organisers to ensure that they comply with copyright. Contact the Copyright Office for assistance with this.

Protecting your work

In Australia, copyright material is subject to copyright as soon as it is created. While the author or creator does not have to do anything to gain copyright, it is advisable to make copyright ownership and any reuse conditions clear to others.

Below is a list of ways that will assist in clarifying copyright ownership and clarifying the reuse limitations around the material.

Include a copyright statement on works

A copyright statement is usually the copyright symbol - a lower case c in a circle, the name of the copyright owner (who may or may not be the author) and the year the work was created, e.g. © J. Smith 2010 or © University of Melbourne 2022.

A copyright statement alerts people to the fact that the work is subject to copyright and therefore, there may be restrictions in how to reuse the material.

The University owns Intellectual Property (IP) created by staff in the course of, or incidental to, employment with the University, except copyright in Scholarly Works. For further details see the University’s Intellectual Property policy.

Provide a full bibliographic citation

A full bibliographic citation will provide people with citation information and show them how to cite the work. Citing work isn’t just for published, peer reviewed research, it can be applicable to websites, blogs, images, and many other types of outputs. Check the University of Melbourne citation style guide to find a suitable style.

Include works in the UOM repository

Submit a version of research with author details to the UOM repository, this will create a formal record, that will verify copyright ownership of the research work. Include metadata associated with the work and  assign a Creative Commons licence to the work so people know how to reuse the work. Many repositories also generate a full bibliographic citation (as discussed above) based on the provided information.

Such repositories include:

  • Melbourne.Figshare
  • OpenScienceFramework
  • ArXiv
  • Humanities Commons.

Include instructions for people who wish to contact the copyright owner for permission to include or reuse excerpts of a work

By providing an email address or contact details people will be more inclined to contact the copyright owner to ask for permission.

Consider further impact and outreach potential for copyright

Copyright works have the potential to be translated, in ways that will have further impacts in societies, cultures, the environment, policy and other areas. Consider alternate pathways for works, the potential benefits that can come about due to the research, within the work.  The impact of works within different sectors. Thinking in this way will help with the conceptualisation of how a work might be translated. If extra support is needed on exploring the commercial concepts around a work contact Research, Innovation and Commercialisation, (RIC). RIC can provide advise on potential business uses for IP and can also advise on commercialisation of IP.

Copyright infringement

Action can be taken against an individual or an organisation if they are responsible for infringing copyright. Clarify that the use of work is actually an infringement, before taking action as there are provisions in the Copyright Act that allow people to use copyright material without needing permission.

If the University of Melbourne is the copyright owner of the allegedly infringed work, seek assistance through the Copyright Office.

If you are the copyright owner issue a takedown notice or contact independent legal advice.

If copyright has been transferred to a publisher, then any infringement should be pursued by the publisher.

Basic principles of copyright

Types of copyright material

Using copyright material

Citing material