Teaching Support: Copyright for Teaching

‘Illustration for instruction’ does not extend to making copies of texts for students to use in the classroom. Instead, this is done under the terms of a licence. The CLA (Copyright Licensing Agency) Licence allows us to digitise from most printed books, journals and magazines produced in the UK, as well as some overseas publications, for student course materials.

The terms of the CLA Licence outline the following restrictions:

• one chapter of a book.
• one article from a journal.
• one paper from one set of conference proceedings.
• one scene from a play.
• one poem/story(not exceeding 10 pages in length) from an anthology.
• one case of one report of judicial proceedings.

or 10% of any of the above (whichever is the greater).

All scanning is done by the Library and uploaded to the Digital Content Store. You must not make scans yourself. Contact your Subject Librarian for more information or to request a digitisation. See the Reading Lists & Digitisation tab for more information.

Photographs, illustrations, paintings, diagrams, and other forms of image are protected by copyright. This is usually for the term of the creator's life, plus 70 years. Following this period, works fall into the public domain. 

Copyrighted images can only be used in teaching under the terms of an exception to copyright law known as Fair Dealing, outlined in s.32 of the CDPA. For such a use to be acceptable, the image must be directly related to your teaching – not just decorative – and it must also be fully referenced.

Many images are in the public domain or are available to be used under Creative Commons licences. You can find a list of websites with public domain images here, or search Creative Commons here. These images can be used for any purpose, not just for teaching, within the terms of the CC licence. 

Film works are protected for the life of the principal crew (director, author of screenplay, composer of music), plus 70 years. This term also applies to videos published online. Broadcasts (television, radio, etc.) are protected for 50 years following the date of broadcast. Following this period, works fall into the public domain – because of the length of the protected term, and that film is a modern medium, very few films are in the public domain in the UK.

Their use in teaching is permitted by s.34 of the CDPA, so long as your use can be said to be Fair Dealing. Additionally, the film must be a lawfully acquired copy, such as a DVD you own or have borrowed from the Library or one of the Library’s streaming services, and the screening must take place on AUB premises to an audience consisting entirely of AUB students and staff only.

AUB holds a licence from the Educational Recording Agency (ERA) which allows the recording of live television and radio broadcasts (including broadcast feature films) to be used for educational purposes. In practice, this is done through BoB National (Box of Broadcasts). BoB can only be accessed by students in the UK. 

The Library subscribes to several services that provide a source of film and video that can be used for educational purposes, including BoB National and Kanopy.  

Commercial streaming services generally prohibit public screenings in their Terms of Use. A select number of Netflix documentaries are available to be screened for educational purposes. More information about this can be found here.

Events and screenings, such as film club showings, which are not for the purpose of course teaching at the university and may be open to external participants, will need a Filmbank licence, whether or not you are charging for admission. The Library does not administer or pay for these licences.

It is illegal under UK copyright law to format shift media, such as converting a DVD to an mp4 file to play on a computer or upload to a course blog, where this violates Technological Protection Measures (TPMs). UK law protects the right of copyright owners to use TPMs to protect their works, and circumvention of such technology is illegal.

The same copyright considerations apply when teaching 'live' online, in recorded sessions and where teaching materials will later be made available to download. You may include images and short extracts in your online teaching so long as the usage falls under the Fair Dealing exceptions for Illustration for Instruction (s.32 CDPA). You cannot rely on this exception if the use of the material is only indirectly related to what you are teaching or included for entertainment or aesthetic reasons. 

Longer extracts from books and publications should be copied under the terms of the CLA licence. See the tab on 'Course Readings' for further information on this.

Films and television recordings should not be included in a recorded lecture. When using film and video to teach online, you should make use of the University's subscribed streaming resources, that have been made available under licence for our educational purposes. You should provide students with a link to the video you require them to watch, rather than broadcasting it in your recorded lecture. The student watching the recorded lecture can still enjoy the full experience and watch the video via the relevant link.

The University is legally obliged to access material under and in accordance with the licence wherever possible.

The NLA (Newspaper Licensing Agency) licence permits copying from the print and online versions of all the major UK daily and Sunday newspapers (excluding The Financial Times), as well as some regional newspapers.

The NLA licence only covers printing; it does not extend to making digital copies via scanning. 

The Educational Recording Agency (ERA) Licensing Scheme permits staff at educational establishments in the UK to copy, access and use TV and radio programmes for non-commercial educational purposes. In practice, this is mostly done through the BoB National service. BoB can only be accessed by students in the UK. 

Creative Commons (CC) is a worldwide licence. Any individuals, no matter where in the world they are located, may reuse material that has been made available under CC Licence. You can easily find materials licenced for reuse under Creative Commons using the Creative Commons Search. You can also use materials available in Open Educational Resources, which can be searched for using the OER Commons.  CC Licensing does not replace copyright; you need to abide by any restrictions on the licence, or doing so is a violation of copyright.