Using material from the Internet for Teaching Purposes
There is a wealth of material on the internet that can be used for teaching purposes. However it is important to remember that the internet is NOT 'copyright free'. Copyright applies to material on the internet just as it does to print and audio-visual materials, even if it does not have a copyright statement.
Copyright Owner's Permission: Internet sites often outline the
use conditions for copying their content. In some instances these conditions will be more generous than those of the Statutory Licence for educational use (the Part VB Licence). Check for these under headings such as 'Copyright', 'Terms of Use', 'About this site' or 'Legals'. These conditions may be to your advantage, but are not legally binding unless you have entered into a contract by clicking 'I Agree' or entering in a password. Should a password be required to access a site, or if you are required to click 'I Agree' to access the site, then you must either abide by the terms and conditions of access, or obtain an exemption from them by contacting the site's owner.
The Part VB Educational Licence: Where internet sites are freely accessible to anyone and not password-protected, you are able to rely on the Part VB educational licence to use text and graphic material for educational purposes. This means that you may copy certain quantities from a website:
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For literary and text based materials, your copying should be guided by what is considered reasonable in the print equivalent, which is one periodical article, one chapter of a book or 10 per cent of the words. It can be difficult to judge how much is 10 per cent because the extent and size of a website can be difficult to determine, but you should try to copy only what is reasonable and only what you need (see Copying Limits under the Part VB Licence). Alternatively you could seek permission to copy by emailing the site's owner.
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'Insubstantial portions' of a work (see Insubstantial Portions), for example a short extract or quote, may be used.
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Artistic works can be copied in their entirety for educational purposes. Unfortunately this does not include animations or moving images which are considered films.
UNE Library resources: The Library's website has a wealth of information and resources such as databases and full text journals. These are covered by licence arrangements with the vendor or producer of the database and the licences usually clarify the situation in relation to how you may use them for teaching purposes (see the Library's Database Licence Regulation Guide).
Sound, film and music: If you need to copy music, film, video or other audio-visual material from the internet for educational purposes, you are advised to check first with the Copyright Office.
Attribution: Web material that you use should be properly cited and the UNE Referencing Guide will help with this. Note that citations for material from the internet require a URL and date accessed.
Linking: Instead of reproducing content from another website, it is often easier and more appropriate to link to it. However, you need to be careful about where you link on the other site. Rather than deep link within a site, most website owners prefer you to link to their home page, so that users do not bypass any copyright statement or advertising material. You are advised to check the website's Terms of Use, or seek permission from the owner of the site if you want to link within their site.
Illegal web content: You should not use content from a site that you believe is illegal, or if you believe the copyright owner has not authorised the use of their material.