Copyright VIA

Here are information on the use of materials protected by copyright, and what to be aware of in relation to your studies or work at VIA University College.

Copyright issues

  • Text

    As a rule, all types of text are comprised by copyright law. This means that you must obtain the permission of the author to use a work.

    VIA has made an agreement about copying of copyright-protected material with Copydan Tekst og Node, which means you do not need to obtain this permission concerning certain types of use.

    Below you can read about when you do not need the permission of the originator to use a particular kind of work.

    Copying
    You are allowed to copy maximum 20% of the material, but no more than 30 pages of the same material per student per half year/semester. Regardless of the length of the material, you are always allowed to copy a minimum of four pages. You can get help to calculate number of pages at Kopieringens hvem-hvad-hvor (in Danish)

    If you have a private book you are allowed to take a physical copy of this for private use. You are also allowed to provide your study buddy with a copy. If you choose to scan a book you make a digital copy. The digital copy is only for personal use and you are not allowed to provide your study buddy or any other persons with a copy.

    If you copy something from a book borrowed at the library, this can only be done using your own or the library printer. This means that you are not allowed to ask a copy centre to make a copy.

    You can read more about copying here (in Danish)

    Scanning
    You are allowed to scan maximum 20% of the material, but no more than 30 pages of the same material per student per half year/semester. Regardless of the length of the material, you are always allowed to scan a minimum of four pages. You can get help to calculate number of pages at Kopieringens hvem-hvad-hvor (in Danish)

    If you scan a text, it is important the file format of the scanned document is ”locked”. This means that no changes can be made in the scanned text. A PDF format is an example of such a file format.

    If you wish to scan something from a book borrowed at the library, you can only do this using your own or the library printer. This means that you are not allowed to ask a copy centre to make a scan.

    Itslearning
    You are allowed to place scanned texts (in PDF formal) at Itslearning because it is a closed forum only accessible by lecturers and students at the university colleges. The files are protected by a access code. This means you cannot forward these by text message, e-mail, uploading on website or sharing on Facebook (not even in a closed group).

    Exceptions from scanning
    Prints from electronic journals and databases requiring subscription cannot be scanned or photocopied. Newspapers and daily papers cannot be scanned; they can only be photocopied or printed directly from the internet.

    E-books sold by chapter cannot be copied. 

    Copies of digital articles cannot be uploaded to Itslearning; a link to the article can be provided.

    Scanned articles ordered from another library cannot be further distributed or uploaded to Itslearning.

    Internal administrative use
    According to the agreement between VIA and Copydan, only photocopying/physical copies of printed material and prints of digital material for internal administrative use are allowed. It is not allowed to produce digital copies for internal administrative use.

    It is allowed to make digital copies when they are used in Powerpoint presentations or on interactive boards. It should be noted that the material must not be made accessible later electronically e.g. by uploading these on Itslearning. It is not allowed to produce digital copies of newspapers regardless of use in an internal presentation.

    Moreover, it is not allowed to produce digital copies for use in Powerpoints etc. if the originator has expressly declined this. 

    The full version of the agreement between VIA and Copydan can be found here (in Danish)

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  • Digital copying

    As a rule, digital copying requires consent from the originator.

    The university colleges have made an agreement with Copydan Tekst og Node. According to this agreement you can make digital copies of copyright-protected material to some extent without the consent of the originator. Below you can read about the parts of the agreement where you do not need consent from the originator.

    What is digital copying?
    It is a digital copy when the end product which is digital e.g. electronic text file or scanned text. You make a digital copy when you download from the internet, scan a text or copy using a CD or DVD burner.

    Framework for digital copying
    For teaching and internal administrative use you are allowed to copy up to 20% of a material, no more than 30 pages of the same material per student per half year/semester. Regardless of size, you are always allowed to copy at least four pages.

    You are allowed to upload copies of the material to a password protected intranet such as Study net.

    The agreement with Copydan does not include agreements with other suppliers such as Infomedia or international journals. Please, see the conditions for use from the supplier in question. Generally, the starting point is that the license is private and you are not allowed to make digital copies unless for private use.

    Read more about copying at KOPIERINGENS HVEM - HVAD - HVOR (in Danish)

    When is it not allowed to make a digital copy?
    You are not allowed to make a digital copy of newspapers and newspaper articles, but you are allowed to print them from the internet or copy them physically i.e. using a photocopying machine.

    E-books sold by chapter cannot be copied digitally. An updated list of e-books published by chapter can be seen at Tekst og Node (in Danish)

    E-books must be bought for teaching purposes. A license bought for private use cannot be used to make digital copies and cannot be used for digital copying for use in teaching.

    The Copydan agreement does not comprise permission to make digital copies from other license-based fora where the university colleges have bought access. This applies to e.g. Infomedia. Please see specific conditions in the subscription agreement.

    Internal administrative use
    As a rule, copying digitally for internal administrative use is not allowed. Analogue copying is allowed and this can be done by using a photocopying machine or by printing digital materials.

    As an exception, it is allowed to produce digital copies for internal administrative use in e.g. Powerpoint presentations or on interactive boards. This exception does not apply to newspapers and Powerpoint presentations must not be made available to use later e.g. at Study net. Please check that the originator has not made a special injunction to such a use. You can check this at Tekst og Node (in Danish)

    As a lecturer or student, it is not allowed to send digitally copied material to students (or your lecturer) or to fellow students by e-mail etc.

    Remember
    You are obliged to make sure the copied material includes the name of the material, the originator and year of publication.

    You can read the full agreement with Copydan Tekst og Node here (in Danish)

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  • Visual art

    As a rule, use of other peoples’ pictures requires consent from the originator. This applies to paintings, photos etc. This means that you must obtain the permission of the originator of the picture or the photographer to use a work.

    The university colleges and Copydan Billedkunst have made an agreement about the use of isolated digital and analogue (printed) pictures in the education programmes at the university colleges. Below you can read about when you do not need the permission of the originator to use a particular kind of work.

    Which pictures?
    First of all, the permission includes pictures that are not connected to text or pictures that were originally connected with text but where the text is not included.

    Pictures not connected with text are subject to agreement with Copydan Tekst og Node. You can read more about these under the headline ”Text”.

    What are you allowed to do?
    You can e.g. use digital pictures from the internet by downloading them to your computer, using them in your Powerpoint presentation in connection with teaching or uploading them on Study net.

    You can also make copies of analogue pictures from books, articles or postcards and transfer them to Powerpoint presentations or Study net.

    Pictures uploaded to e.g. ”UC Viden”
    You are allowed to use pictures in internal knowledge registration systems for teaching e.g. to the system at the university colleges ”UC Viden”. You just have to file your project in ”UC Viden” as internally accessible if it contains pictures which are protected by copyright. It is decisive that the pictures are only shared in systems protected by passwords and where only lecturers and students from the university colleges have access.

    If you share something that includes pictures at other websites, you have to make sure to obtain the rights through agreement with the originator of the pictures or to remove the pictures and other copyright-protected material from the material you wish to share.

    Remember
    When using pictures and other works, it is your duty to clearly indicate/note the originator’s name, the source, where the picture was retrieved (e.g. from a book/website etc.).
    Moreover, you must remember that you in general cannot make important changes to the work unless the original work cannot be recognised afterwards.

    You can read the full agreement with Copydan BilledKunst (in Danish)

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  • The Internet

    Texts/pictures/websites etc. on the internet are protected by copyright law. This means that as a rule, consent should be obtained from the originator of the website before you are allowed to use it.

    VIA has made a number of agreements to ensure that you as a student or lecturer can use a part of the materials without collecting consent from the originator.

    Below you can read about the parts of the agreement where you do not need consent from the originator.

    Digital materials
    Digital materials such as external websites are perceived as works similar to other types of works.

    You are not allowed to make copies of websites without the permission of the originator. If you are in doubt, contact the originator of the website and ask for permission.

    Screen dumps from other sites
    It is allowed to take prints of websites according to the VIA agreement with Copydan Tekst & Node.

    Links and deep links
    As a rule, there is no problem in linking to the ”frontpage” or another website e.g. https://www.bibliotek.via.dk. If you refer in this way (reference linking) you can write to the receiver of your text where specific information on this other website can be found. This is in accordance with the law.

    If you link to a subpage, it is called deep linking. The European Court of Justice ruled in 2014 the three conditions for legal deep linking:

    1) The material must på uploaded legally to the internet. This means that you can be held liable if you e.g. link to a video on Youtube which has been uploaded without the permission of the originator.

    2) You must not avoid any payment walls for licensed materials through your link. VIA has made a license agreement with Infomedia which enables students and lecturers to read articles from their website at institution computers or by using a username and a password. If you copy the link to an article and send it to a third person, this person should state username and password to read the article. This is legal. But you cannot e.g. provide the link with a mechanism which ensures that the receiver does not need to write his username and password, thus avoiding the log-in function. In this way Infomedia does not have the possibility to demand payment.

    3) Linking must not be systematic and must not be exploited commercially.

    Creative Commons
    As described previously, the person uploading material to the internet most often has the copyright. Some originators upload materials using a Creative Commons license. In this way they renunciate their right to be protected by certain conditions under which their materials can be used without asking their permission.

    All who have produced a work which can be protected by copyright can use the Creative Commons license. The purpose of publishing a work using this license is to make sure the work will be used by others. There are six options if you choose to publish your work using a Creative Commons license.

    You have to decide on the following:

    Should you be credited as the originator when the work is used?
    Is commercial use of the work allowed?
    Is it allowed to adapt the work?
    Can the work only be shared on the same Creative Commons license conditions? Can it be shared on other terms?

    You can read more about Creative Commons license at Creative Commons

    Good sources for searching for creative work with Creative Commons license are Google and Flickr.

    Open Access
    Open Access is used about digitalised text or other material published online free of charge and with unrestricted access. The consent of the originator (e.g. the author) is needed if a text is to be published as Open Access.

    In research they work with Open Access based on two models: Own repertoire (online archive) and publishing archives with open access for readers.

    Texts collected by Open Access can be used i e-learning without applying for permission.

    VIA has an Open Access policy - find it here.

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  • Film and television


    Film and television programmes are also protected by copyright law. Only films can be used as e-learning and in teaching if you have permission to do so.

    As an exception, it is possible to show very short clips from film without special approval from the originator.

    An agreement between the university colleges and Copydan AVU-Medier has been made permitting use of audiovisual materials in teaching.

    Below you can read about the parts of the agreement where you do not need consent from the originator.


    What are you allowed to do within this agreement?

    The agreement gives access to television and radio programmes from more than 50 Danish and foreign channels (television programmes, short film, radio programmes, commercials, music, documentaries etc.) such as DR, TV2, BBC and CNN. With this agreement it is allowed to use television and radio programmes from these channels in connection with teaching without asking the originator for permission.

    Films supplied by Center for Undervisningsmidler (CFU) are also allowed for teaching purposes according to the Copydan AVU-medier agreement. As a lecturer you have the right to show television programmes from the included channels in public if using the CFU streaming service (with WAYF or UNI log-in). Students need permission from lecturers/library managers/librarians to get access to CFU streaming services outside the educational institution. Permission is time-limited (max. 30 days) as a part of the teaching. The procedure describing this can be found in the agreement.

    Recording of television and radio programmes

    It is allowed to record television and radio programmes under certain conditions using both analogue and digital media:

    Recordings must be obtained directly from radio/television
    Recordings must be of a suitable technical quality
    Recordings must not be changed
    Recordings must not be distributed in streamed versions (not on internal/external networks either)
    Recordings must be made and performed by the educational institution or an AVU approved technical assistant
    Recordings must only be stored for own use


    Exceptions

    Please note, that the agreement does not comprise television broadcasted films that are part of the usual cinema repertoire. This applies unless the television broadcast only shows a minor part of the work. It is allowed to reproduce this part.

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  • Sound

    Music and e-learning
    Music is comprised by copyright law. Except from a few cases where you only quote a very small part of the work of music, permission should be obtained before using music in e-learning. Permission is obtained at KODA and Gramex.

    Music at parties
    The rectors at the university colleges have made an agreement with KODA and Gramex about the use of music at parties, concerts and showing of films as well as background music. The institutions must notify KODA no later than 15 days before any arrangements including live music.

    You can read about the agreement with KODA and Gramex here (in Danish)

    Sound recordings of teaching

    The teacher owns the copyright of his or her teaching. Recording a class does not conflict with the Copyright Act if it is done solely for your own use, i.e. the recording is not shared with fellow students or published on the Internet.

    We recommend that you ask for your teacher’s permission (in writing would be a good idea). Your teacher can refuse recording of the class, and you are obligated to respect that. A consent can subsequently be withdrawn, so you will have to delete your recording.

    If a class is recorded, then you are responsible for ensuring that your fellow students cannot be heard. If your fellow students can be heard, then you must ask permission from each of them; otherwise the recording must be deleted.

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  • Knowledge production in UC Viden

    The lecturers have the copyright to own knowledge production outside their teaching practice unless otherwise agreed. It is the choice of the individual lecturer to attach/publish full text materials in the ”Knowledge” registration system.

    VIA has an Open Access policy - find it here.

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  • Webcast

    If you as a student wish to record the teaching
    The lecturer has the copyright of the lecture. It is, however, not against copyright law to record teaching/lectures if you only use the recording yourself and not share it with your fellow students or upload it on the internet. We recommend that you obtain permission from the lecturer (preferably in writing).

    If you record teaching with the purpose of uploading it on the internet or share it with other students, you need the lecturer’s consent. Moreover, you need consent from the students you can hear on the recording before publication. We recommend to collect these permissions in writing.

    If you as a lecturer wish to record the teaching
    If the lecture is webcasted or recorded by the lecturer/university colleges, the students should be informed also about what will happen with the recordings. You need consent (in writing) from the students you can hear on the recording before the it can be published.

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