Intellectual Property and Copyright - Information for Schools

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Copyright Information for School Staff

Copyright management in the school environment is different to copyright management in the ‘corporate’ environment. School staff need to understand:

• the limits on use of copyright materials under the statutory exceptions
• the limits on use of copyright materials under the educational licences
• the limits on the use that students may make of copyright materials
• the school’s responsibilities for ensuring that copyright material is managed effectively.

The statutory exceptions and education licences

There are four statutory exceptions commonly relied on by school staff. There are five ‘standing’ licences under which staff may use a wide range of copyright materials (the ‘educational licences’). Staff should note that while the educational licences allow a wide range of use, there are limits to this use.

For a brief overview of operation of the licences, and the availability and limitations of the exceptions, see the Copyright Quick Reference Guide for Victorian Government Schools. 

More comprehensive information can also be found in the National Copyright Guidelines (http://www.smartcopying.edu.au/scw/go/pid/266).

Student's use of copyright material

Staff are responsible for taking reasonable steps to prevent students from using school equipment to infringe copyright. This means:

• being familiar with what students are legally allowed to do with copyright material
• providing reasonable supervision of students’ use of school equipment (such as photocopiers and printers)
• providing guidance to students on their use of copyright materials.

Schools’ copyright management responsibilities

Schools’ copyright management responsibilities are outlined in the Copyright Guidelines for Victorian Government Schools. A Copyright Action Checklist for School Principals and Administrators is also available.

See Schools resources.

More information

See also Frequently Asked Questions.

See also Information for Students.

For more information not found on the site, email copyright@edumail.vic.gov.au.