Working with the Web

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Web Publishing and Copyright

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 is protected, and may be owned by different people.

This section provides information about copyright issues of particular relevance to web publishing:

More detailed information on copyright for schools can be found in the Intellectual Property and Copyright - Information for Schools.

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Publishing original material created by staff

Government school and teaching staff are generally employed by a State or Territory Department of Education. Since the Department is a direct instrument of the Crown (government), the Crown copyright ownership provisions apply to works created by permanent employed staff and casual teachers. Under these provisions, the copyright in all material produced by teachers in the course of their employment is owned by the Crown (in effect, the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development).

Therefore, original material produced by teachers may be communicated on the internet or intranets because the copyright is owned by the Department. However, care must be taken to ensure that any materials placed on the Internet/intranets does not include copyright material which is NOT owned by the Department. For more information, see section 2.8 of the Copyright Guidelines for Victorian Government Schools.

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Publishing original material created by students

Students retain the copyright over original material that they create unless the students have been asked to assign these rights. It is not the Department’s policy to ask for assignment of the ownership of student created works. However students may be requested to grant the Department a licence to use the works. Copyright over students’ work typically becomes an issue when student material is incorporated into curriculum support materials or teacher professional development materials which are to be used at conferences and/or placed on the Internet. In such situations it is generally the case that permission to use the material needs to be obtained from the student unless a licence has already been given. A form for obtaining consent from students/parents is available in the Intellectual Property and Copyright - Information for Schools. In addition, students retain rights known as ‘moral rights’ which cannot be waived or assigned. The practical implication of these moral rights is that the work needs to be attributed to the student – but in a way which does not compromise their privacy or safety. For example, if student art is being displayed on the Internet, an appropriate form of attribution might be to use the student’s first name and year level – but not the student’s full name.

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Copying and communicating material from the Internet

Web pages may contain the following content:

  • A logo (artistic work)
  • Text (literary work)
  • Photographs or still images, drawings, charts, maps (artistic works)
  • Moving images (audio-visual work or film)
  • Music (musical work and sound recording)
  • Other sounds (sound recordings)
  • Site map (literary and artistic works)
  • Links to other sites
  • Conditions of access and use in relation to content on the website
  • Website address or domain name.

There are situations where these content items may be copied from a web page and communicated without infringing the owner’s copyright. Permission can also be sought from content owners.

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:

  • In accordance with the permission granted on websites - usually found on buttons or links called copyright or disclaimer or a file headed 'conditions of use'.
  • With the direct permission of the copyright owner (for information on obtaining permission from a copyright owner, and forms to use, see section 3.3 of the Copyright Guidelines for Victorian Government Schools).
  • Under the Free Use Exceptions in the Copyright Act 1968 or other statutory exceptions (see section 3.1.4.1 of the Copyright Guidelines for Victorian Government Schools)
  • Under the statutory education licences - Parts VA (television and radio broadcasts) and VB (print) of the Copyright Act (see section 3.1.4.3 of the Copyright Guidelines for Victorian Government Schools).

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Temporary copies and technical reproductions

Making temporary copies and technical reproductions is permitted under the Copyright Act.

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.

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Browsing, printing and downloading

Every time a user browses a web page, 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 a website using a computer, falls into the exception which allows temporary reproductions to be made as part of a technical process of 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.

Printing a hard copy or saving a soft copy of a web page is a reproduction under the Copyright Act 1968.

If you download a document or sound file from a website while browsing, without obtaining permission and without authorisation under the Copyright Act 1968, this is an infringing reproduction and not a temporary reproduction because the reproduction is stored on your computer.

However, educational institutions may reproduce and communicate material for educational purposes, within limits, under the statutory educational licences. (See This means that web pages may be copied (providing the limits are observed) even if there is a copyright notice on the website that would otherwise make the copying an infringement – for example, '© XXXX Pty Ltd 2005 All rights reserved'.

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.

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Caching

Caching describes three different actions:

  • Automatically saving a temporary Internet file when you are browsing on a computer. This occurs at a school level, system level or ISP level and is known as passive caching.
  • Mirroring of whole websites i.e. setting up a mirror website on an ISP. This is a form of active caching.
  • Mirroring of selected items from a website, which means keeping a copy of the accessed material on the browser's ISP; which is a form of active caching.

Passive caching

In general, passive caching does not infringe copyright because copyright owners who have given permission for their material to be included on a website, know that it is likely to be automatically cached by visitors who come to the site.

Active caching

Active caching is also called 'mirroring' and is likely to infringe copyright. Setting up a 'mirror' involves creating 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 a whole website involves an active decision by the educational institution or teacher on what sites should be included. Retaining a copy of accessed material from another website and setting up a mirror website infringe copyright and requires the copyright owner's permission.

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

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Copyright for school website content

When creating a website or web pages, schools 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 teachers and students. All of the material will be protected by copyright. Schools 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 that is available for free if used for education. Always check the terms and conditions on the website from which the material is copied.

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Copyright notices for school websites

School websites must include a copyright notice reflecting that the copyright is owned by the State of Victoria (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development). The current copyright notice may be downloaded from Intellectual Property and Copyright - Information for Schools.