Students within the academic are required to refer to and use a number of work created by others. Much of what a student does while at university is covered by exceptions to copyright.
As a student, you can rely on what’s called ‘fair dealing for research or study.
This exception allows you to reproduce limited copyright material both for your own reference and in your assignments.
You can also reproduce images and other media in your coursework, but the use must be ‘fair’. In order for the exception to apply, your work (assignments, etc.) must only be available to you, your classmates, and your lecturer or tutor for assessment in that course of study.
Information on the Internet:
You might be under the assumption that copyright does not apply to information that you find on the internet. Information found on the internet is covered by copyright for digital publishing. It is better to assume that all information is protected by copyright.
Early on you will be taught how to use referencing style to acknowledge work that you use in your projects and assignments.
It is also useful to understand how creative commons work. Using information from creative commons and open source material will allow you to avoid some of the issues related to permission and copyright during your course of study.
Copyright is a legal term that describes the rights given to the author or creator of certain categories of works. Copyright gives a creator or author rights of ownership over the property of work and they can control the use of work, subject to certain exceptions.
Types of work protected are:
original literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic work, including illustration and photography
original non-literary written work, such as software, web content, and databases
sound and music recordings
film and television recordings
broadcasts
the layout of published editions of written, dramatic and musical works
Copyright prevents work from being:
Copied
Distributed
Rented or lent
Performed
Adapted
Put on the internet
For a work to be protected it has to be:
1. Original and/or demonstrate adequate skill, labor, and judgment to create the work
2. Written or recorded in a fixed form. This includes both digital and physical formats.
3. One of the following eight categories of work:
Literary works - novels, poetry, journal articles, newspapers, letters, tables, manuscripts, song lyrics, computer programs, and databases
Dramatic works - plays, dance, mime, scripts, screenplays, opera
Musical works - musical scores, but the lyrics are regarded as literary works
Artistic works - photography, paintings, drawings, sculptures, architecture, graphics, technical drawings/diagrams, map, charts
Sound recordings - vinyl records, CDs, recordings of other copyright works e.g. musical and literary
Broadcasts - radio and TV broadcasts
Films - films and documentaries
Typographical arrangements of published editions - layout and the actual appearance of text-based works
How long does a copyright last?
Creative Commons licenses provide a standardized way for authors and creators to grant the public permission to share and use their creative works. Creative Commons licenses mix and match the following elements:
Fair use for teaching and research
Fair use allows reproduction and other uses of copyrighted works – without requiring permission from the copyright owner – under certain conditions. In many cases, you can use copyrighted materials for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research.
Four factors of fair use
the purpose and character of your use
the nature of the copyrighted work
the amount and substantiality of the portion taken, and
the effect of the use upon the potential market
All students and staff at RCSI Bahrain are encouraged to complete the Plagiarism Course available on the VLE.
