Checking Copyright compliance of printed readers
Check first that the reader correctly identifies what course it is for – ie match the data on UniSAnet as to Area Catalogue Number and Course Title. This helps students identify the reader with the course in which they are enrolled, and links to online resources. Readers should also have a valid PLU printed on the front cover if they are to be sold to students. This enables the charges to be correctly applied to cost centres within the University. Readers lacking a valid PLU will not be sold at Campus Central.
Index
It is especially useful that there be an index of the readings included in the Reader. You will find the index the quickest source to check for copyright compliance.
Whether or not there is a separate index, each item must include valid referencing data on the source. Accurate referencing complies with Moral Rights under the Copyright Act. There must be sufficient detail for students to use the bibliographic information to reference the work.
Periodicals
A reader (or set of readers) for a course may contain “All or part of two or more articles in an issue provided that the articles relate to the same subject matter”.
Look through the index, identifying which items are from journals or periodicals. Normally the Journal title will appear in italics.
Where the same journal title appears, check that each reading is from a different issue of the journal.
If you get more than one reading from the same issue of a single journal, now you need to determine whether or not the items are on the “same subject matter”. The items will need to be more specifically closely related than just fitting into the same journal title. Try by title of article first. One rule of thumb might be that 2 items are being recommended for reading in the same week, implying that the content relates to a single module of the course.
Note that none of the journal articles may be copied from the library databases, as the University’s contract for use is based upon individual access for every student and staff member. This may not be used as a source for making multiple copies.
Books
“A reader (or set of readers) for a course may contain “one chapter or 10% in a work greater than 10 pages, whichever is the greater”.
The index usually shows the authors name and title.
Identify all those books with the same author and title, ie the same book.
Is the extract from a single chapter? – OK
If the extract appears to be from more than one chapter (or no chapter is mentioned), then are the number of pages copied 10% of the pages in the work? Sometimes this will be obvious eg pp 230-240, would mean only 11 pages copied from possible 240 – definitely less than 10%. Often you won’t have enough information to determine the number of pages in the whole work. Use the library catalogue to check for total number of pages in the book.
If the extract is more than 10% or one chapter, then you need to test whether or not the work is out of print. You may need to approach the academic who chose the work and required the copies made, they should have checked the availability of the work and kept evidence if the work was out-of-print when the copying was done.
Anthologies
If the book is a collection of works by different authors, then the
anthology rule may apply. This might occur where the source is conference
proceedings or a published collection of essays.
If the work is from an anthology, then up to 15 pages of each work may be
copied. Note that this might result in the whole of the published collection
being copied.
You need to check that only 15 pages of each work from an anthology has been copied.
Please note that the copying limits for electronic use of copyright material a slightly more restrictive. For this reason all text copying into electronic versions need to go through the Digital Resource Service in the Library.
For more information, please contact the University Copyright Officer