Smartcopying

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Working Collaboratively

The students of a year 10 science class are asked to work on a group report. The students divide the work equally among the group and create a wiki, adding the group members to work on the wiki collaboratively. The students then log into the wiki and start working on their sections of the report at the same time, with some students working from home.

They review each other’s work at the same time and exchange their opinions.

What are the copyright implications of the students' activities?

The copyright implications will depend on whether the student works:

• Are original works
• Contain third party material

Original student works

Students own copyright in the original work they produce. Therefore, there are no copyright implications arising from a student uploading their original work onto the wiki.

Who can access the wiki if it only contains original student works?

Access to the wiki does not need to be restricted. The wiki can be ‘open’ to the public on the internet unless one or more of the students decide not to allow public access to their wiki.

Student works containing third party material

Fair dealing

Students rely on fair dealing when copying and communicating third party material (other people’s work).  Fair dealing is a ‘free use exception’ in copyright law, which means that no payment is made to copyright owners. For fair dealing to apply, the use must be ‘fair’ and for the purpose of:

• research or study for class (eg copying an image off the internet to include in a homework exercise or using music from a CD in a podcast or vodcast for a school assignment)
• criticism or review (eg reviewing a book, CD or film for homework)
• reporting the news (eg writing an article for the school newsletter on a current news item) 
• parody or satire (eg writing a humorous or satirical imitation of a serious newspaper article or advertisement for a class exercise)

The students in this scenario are uploading their work onto a wiki for a science project. Their use will be covered by fair dealing as it is for the purposes of research and study.

‘Fair’ use

For the use to be ‘fair’, the students should only use what is necessary for the research or study activity.

Students cannot copy an entire work under fair dealing unless it is not available for purchase within a reasonable time at an ordinary commercial price.

Material covered by fair dealing

Students can use any material protected by copyright under fair dealing. Copyright material is divided into ‘works’ and ‘other subject matter’. See 'What is protected?' for examples of ‘works’ and ‘other subject matter’.

Labelling requirements

Students copying and communicating material under ‘fair dealing’ need to credit the source material, the copyright owner and author of the work (if different).

For information on labelling, see information sheet 'Labelling School Material'.

Who can access the wiki if the students use material under ‘fair dealing’?

In order to ensure that fair dealing is available to the students, it is best if the wiki is password protected with access restricted to teachers, students and parents.

Free for educational material

In relying on fair dealing to copy and communicate material, students are limited in how much they can copy and what they can do with the material. For example:

• Students are unable to copy an entire work or large portions of a work except in limited circumstances.
• It is safest if access to the material is limited to students, teachers and parents.
• Students can’t rely on fair dealing when producing works for competitions, such as ArtExpress or Tropfest Junior.
• Students cannot use material that is protected by an access control technological protection measure.

One way of overcoming these barriers is by using ‘free for education’ material.  Free for education material is material that is available for students to use without having to rely on fair dealing. Some of the advantages of using ‘free for education’ material include:

• No copying limits. Students can copy an entire work without limitation.
• No restrictions on access. The material can be made available to the public.
• Free for education material is unlikely to be protected by an access control technological protection measure.

There is a lot of material which is available ‘free for education’.

Creative Commons

One popular source of free for education material is creative commons.  Creative commons are a set of licences which creators attach to their work.  All creative commons licences allow the material to be used for educational purposes.  As a result, material available under a creative commons licence is ‘free for education’.  Depending on the type of creative commons licence used, students may also modify and share these materials.
 
For further information on creative commons, see Smartcopying Initiatives: Creative Commons.

Free for education websites

There are also many websites which allow copying for ‘educational purposes’.  See TAB A ‘Website Terms and Conditions’ for further information.

Labelling requirements

All free for education material should be labelled in accordance with the terms of the licence under which it is made available. The copyright owner and author (if different) should also be credited for their work.

For information on labelling, see information sheet 'Labelling School Material'.

Who can access the wiki if the students only use ‘free for education’ material’?

Access to the wiki does not need to be restricted.  The wiki can be ‘open’ to the public.

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