Copyright & Creative Commons
Copyright
What is copyright?
Copyright is an intellectual property right assigned automatically to the creator. It prevents unauthorised copying and publishing of an original work.. UK Data Service
What can be copyrighted?
Original literary (e.g. spreadsheets, publications, reports and computer programmes), dramatic, musical or artistic works
Sound recordings, films, broadcasts or television programmes
The typographical arrangement of publications
Research data (creating, sharing and reusing)
For copyright to apply, the work must be original and fixed in a material form (written or recorded); there is no copyright in ideas or unrecorded speech.UK Data Service
Who owns the copyright?
The author(s) or creator(s) of a work automatically own(s) copyright and this can be assumed as soon as the work exists in a recorded form.
If a work has two authors, the copyright will by default be owned by both authors.
For work created during employment, legally, the copyright owner is the employer, subject to ‘any agreement to the contrary’. In practice, many academic institutions assign copyright in research materials and publications to the researchers, but researchers should check how their institution assigns copyright.
For collaborative research or derived data, copyright is held by all the investigators or institutions involved.
For data collected via interviews that are recorded and/or transcribed, the researcher holds the copyright of recordings and transcripts but each speaker is an author of his or her recorded words in the interview (Padfield, T (2010) Copyright for archivists and records managers, 4th ed., London: Facet Publishing).
Copyright can be transferred by the owner but only in writing by means of a transfer document called an assignment.
If researchers wish to publish large extracts from an interview, it is advisable to obtain a transfer of copyright from interviewees.
Creators of a work can also hold moral rights and publications rights.
A database may be protected by copyright in the content and database right in the structure.
Data can be reproduced for non-commercial teaching or research purposes without infringing copyright under the fair dealing concept, providing that the data source used, data distributor and the copyright holder are acknowledged
If secondary users wish to reproduce data, they must obtain copyright clearance from the rights holder.
Rights management
Rights and permissions
Researchers have certain rights over their work
They have the opportunity to license their work appropriately to facilitate sharing and re-use
The application of copyright and licensing depends on:
Copyright and licensing options vary depending on the type of research and/or data
Best rights management practices
Understanding the nature of the research and/or dataset and whether it is subject to copyright.
Making research and/or data as open and reusable as possible, ideally by dedicating it to the Public Domain.
Identifying any restrictions of sharing research and/or data, e.g. from Terms of Use.
Asserting author rights using the FAIR principles
Applying ethical and legal conditions and restriction where necessary
Applying access control to the research and/or data where necessary
Anonymising research data where necessary
Copyright and publication
Understanding copyright & licensing
Copyright licenses detail the rights for publication, distribution, and use of research. Wiley authors must sign a license agreement before publication. Read your chosen journal’s author guidelines for details on the journal’s specific copyright agreement. Failure to sign the license agreement will result in the article being withdrawn from publication.
Copyright and Open Access publication
Since the adoption of the OA Policy, UNESCO has released hundreds of its books with an open license, which are already available in this portal. More will be added over the coming months, including new publications and re-editions of existing works.
Most of these published works are offered under specially developed Creative Commons licenses that allow any user in the world to download, copy, distribute, translate, re-use, adapt, and build on them free of charge. The majority of UNESCO resources will be licensed under the CC BY SA license. The requirements of this license are:
UNESCO is clearly credited as the owner of the original work, and
derivative works may be distributed only under a license identical to the license that governs the original work.
Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that helps overcome legal obstacles to the sharing of knowledge and creativity to address the world’s pressing challenges.
Creative.Commons.org provides Creative Commons licenses and public domain tools that give every person and organization in the world a free, simple, and standardized way to grant copyright permissions for creative and academic works; ensure proper attribution; and allow others to copy, distribute, and make use of those works
Definitions at a glance
Attribution means:
You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform your copyrighted work - and derivative works based upon it - but only if they give you credit.
Noncommercial means:
You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform your work - and derivative works based upon it - but for noncommercial purposes only.
No Derivative Works means:
You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform only verbatim copies of your work, not derivative works based upon it.
Share Alike means:
You allow others to distribute derivative works only under a license identical to the license that governs your work.
Things to consider before you choose a license:
The licenses and the CCO cannot be revoked
Authors must own or control copyright of the work
To Learn more about Creative Commons Licenses, please visit their website https://creativecommons.org/licenses/
Six types of Creative Commons Licenses
CC BY
CC BY-SA
CC BY-NC
CC BY-NC-SA
CC BY-ND
CC BY-NC-ND
More information...
LiASA
Webinar: The Open Educational Resources Movement and Creative Commons Open Licenses
4 September 2020
SPARC Author Rights Initiative
"The SPARC Author Addendum is a legal instrument that modifies the publisher's agreement and allows you to keep key rights to your articles."
Publisher copyright policies & self-archiving
A convenient summary listing of permissions that are normally given as part of individual publishers’ copyright transfer agreements. From the ROMEO and SHERPA projects in the United Kingdom.
Link to Video Tutorials & User Guide
Our aim is to make publishers' and journals' open access policies transparent and easy to understand. We have created a range of resources to help you get the most out of the service.