Copyright guidance for educators, students and researchers
This webpage provides guidance to some of the issues you may encounter when dealing with copyright in relation to your academic or professional practice, whether you’re an academic, student or researcher.
Disclaimer: The information contained within this page and associated resources (documents, videos and learning objects), should not be considered legal advice.
Text based copyright resources
The resources below are all downloadable Word documents:
Content for staff, students and researchers at educational establishments
- Brief explanation of blank licences for UK institutions
- Copyright Basics: What is Copyright (UK Law), Fair Dealing and Copyright exceptions?
- Creative Commons basics: licences and attribution
- Length of various copyright protected works (UK Law)
- Obtaining permission to use someone else's work copyright protected work
- Online sources for copyright free; image,audio, video and Open Access materials
- Orphan Works (when owner of work(s) cannot be identified)
- Social Media
- Using other people's work
Content for teaching staff
- Use of videos in online and face-to-face teaching materials
- Making use of images in online & face-to-face teaching materials
- Using text based materials in online teaching and learning materials
- Copright basics and FAQ
Content for students and researchers
Video based copyright resources
Links to Resources
Links to external content
None of the content found on the websites linked to below should be considered legal advice. If you have any doubt, then you should consult a lawyer or copyright advisor in your own institution.
Websites and Resources
- CILIP Copyright Hub
- Copyright Assessment Framework
- Copyright Literacy
- Copyright User
- Copyright User guide on exceptions for libraries (Morrison & Secker)
- CREATe
- Government resources on Copyright exceptions
- Intellectual Property Office guide Exceptions to copyright: Education and Teaching
- Jisc quick guide on Intellectual property rights in a digital world
- Libraries and Archives Copyright Alliance
- RLUK Copyright and COVID-19
- SCONUL Copyright page
- SCONUL Briefing on the Hargreaves Review and library exceptions (2019)
The tiles below contain links to self-paced learning objects, which provide detailed information about specific areas of Copyright and Creative Commons.
UK Copyright Exceptions
Can I use?
Find out how the fair dealing exceptions can be used to defend the use of types of media within teaching materials.
Copyright Card Game
This is primarily a interactive game, which includes some information on, licences, works, uses and assessing risk.
This self-paced learning object is based on version 2 of the face to face Copyright card game created by Chris Morrison and Jane Secker and is available under a CC-BY-SA licence.