In this section:
Material on the Internet is protected by copyright. It is not clear that a website as a whole is protected by copyright, however the material that comprises the website will be protected and may be owned by different people.
For example, a webpage may contain the following content:
Download means transferring data (usually a file) from a another computer to the computer you are using. The opposite of upload.
Upload means transferring data (usually a file) from the computer you are using to another computer. The opposite of download.
Webcast or streaming refers to the live presentation of information in a continuous (streaming) format delivered through the Internet web. A webcast might be associated with other web pages or other web-browser-based content in addition to the live stream.
In general, copyright in print, musical and artistic works, sound recordings or film contained on the Internet will not be infringed , where the copy or communication is done:
See 1.11: Dealing with copyright
See Appendix B: Statutory Print Licence
Most websites specify what uses visitors can make of the material contained on the website. Users should search the site to see if there are any permissions. Permissions are usually found on buttons or links called copyright or disclaimer or a file headed 'conditions of use'.
Some websites allow users to forward articles to interested persons by way of email. Permission to forward a copy or link to an online article will be implied where the webpage contains an icon with the words 'Email this article to a friend' or there is some other invitation to copy or communicate.
There are three situations where an educational institution will have permission to copy material from the Internet and does not need to rely on the Part VA or VB statutory licence:
The Copyright Act contains a number of free use exceptions which allow copyright material to be used without the permission of the copyright owner. The free use exceptions relevant for educational institutions are set out below.
The copying of print works for fair dealing purposes is free and does not require the permission of the copyright owner. The fair dealing exceptions most relevant for educational institutions and students are:
It is not a copyright infringement to make a temporary reproduction of a print work, artistic musical work or audio-visual work if the reproduction is part of the technical process of communicating that work.
See below: Other Relevant Issues: Browsing
See below: Other Relevant Issues: Caching
There are two relevant statutory licences applicable to internet materials.
(i) Statutory Broadcast Licence
Much broadcast material is available on the Internet as a webcast (same content but different communication technology).
The Statutory Broadcast Licence has a very limited application to the webcasts and will only apply to the copying of television and radio broadcasts that are simultaneously webcast with the broadcast.
See 2.7: Television and Radio Broadcasts
See Appendix A: Statutory Broadcast Licence
(ii) Statutory Print Licence
Part VB of the Copyright Act provides a special statutory licence which allows educational institutions to:
- reproduce and communicate print works (literary, musical, dramatic and artistic works)
- to its students
- for educational purposes
See Appendix B: Statutory Print Licence
The Electronic Use Scheme (EUS) under the Statutory Print Licence may be relied on by educational institutions to copy and use print works from the internet.
Under the EUS of the Statutory Print Licence, an educational institution may copy:
Where it is possible to identify a 'work' on the Internet, within a website or as a separate publication made available from a website, an educational institution may copy a reasonable portion of that work under the EUS of the Statutory Print Licence .
The EUS does not cover the reproduction or communication from the internet of:
An educational institution may copy more than a reasonable portion of that work:
In practice, this means that before you may copy more than a reasonable portion of a work, you must contact the copyright owner to identify:
If yes, whether the copyright owner will make the work available within a reasonable time and at an ordinary commercial price
A work is both separately published and commercially available where it:
If an educational institution wishes to rely on the EUS under the Statutory Print Licence on material, it should:
Every time a user browses a webpage, a copy of the content of that page is transmitted and stored in the electronic memory (RAM) of the user's computer.
Browsing or simply online viewing of copyright material on the browsing computer from a website will fall into the exception which allows temporary reproductions to be made as part of a technical process or making and receiving a communication. This covers any reproduction that occurs automatically and for technical reasons in the course of looking or listening to a work or film or sound recording stored on a remote website.
(ii) Printing and Downloading
Printing a hard copy or saving a soft copy of a webpage is a reproduction under the Copyright Act.
Unless done with permission or authorised under the Act, downloading a sound file or a document from a website will be an infringing reproduction, not a temporary reproduction as the reproduction in a form of permanent storage on the browsing computer.
Caching is a term which captures a number of different actions:
- automatic saving a temporary Internet file on a browsing computer This occurs at a school level, system level or ISP level and is known as passive caching
- mirroring of whole websites ie setting up a mirror website on an ISP
- mirroring of selected items from a website retention of a copy of accessed material on a website on the browser's ISP; which is a form of active caching
Passive Caching
In general, passive caching will not infringe copyright.
It is likely that passive caching is impliedly licensed by the copyright owner where the copyright owner has given permission for their material to be included on a website. Most copyright owners know that the material will most likely be automatically cached by visitors to the site.
Active Caching
Active caching is also called 'mirroring' and is likely to infringe copyright.
A 'mirror' involves the creation of a mirror on a duplicate of pre determined approved sites for access by students and teacher. The content is set up by direct human intervention and planning.
Mirroring of selected items from a website or whole website involves an active decision by the educational institution or teacher as to what sites to be included.
Retaining a copy of accessed material from another website and setting up a mirror website infringe copyright and will require the copyright owner's permission.
(vi) Caching and fair dealing
The creation of mirror sites by students may fall into the exception of fair dealing if done for the purpose of:
- research and study
- criticism and review
- reporting the news
(vii) Copyright notice and Restricted Access
Many websites contain copyright notices such as ' ã XXXX Pty Ltd 2005 All rights reserved', or a statement saying that the content cannot be stored on an intranet or copied for commercial purposes. However, this does not always mean that educational institutions cannot copy or communicate the material for educational purposes.
Educational institutions can copy print material from the Internet for educational purposes following the rules in the statutory licences even if there is a copyright notice on the website that would otherwise make the copying an infringement.
However if the educational institution has been granted access to the website and its copyright material only after agreeing to accept certain terms and conditions which prevent certain types of uses, it may be contractually bound to comply with those terms and conditions.
(viii) Linking to other websites
See 4.5: Linking to other websites
(ix) Peer to Peer Networks
See 4.7: Peer to Peer networks
(x) Creating a webpage
When creating a webpage, educational institutions are likely to use a wide range of copyright material, some of which will be pre existing and some of which will be newly created by the teacher and students. All of the material will be protected by copyright.
Educational institutions must clear the rights of all the material they use which they do not own. Preferably, when using material that already exists on the web, you will use material which is available for free if used for education. Always check the terms and conditions on the website from which the material is copied.
A suggested approach to rights clearance is set out below:
See 1.8: How long does it last?
See 1.14: Defences and exceptions to infringement
