AU Library Copyright Policy

 

INTRODUCTION:

As a multicultural, dual gender, academic institution that offers a broad range is of high quality and relevant undergraduate and graduate academic programs. Ajman University (AU) strives to fulfil the needs of students, alumni, employers, and society through quality education, scholarship and community engagement. AU develops well-rounded graduates who are professionally competent, socially responsible, innovative and active contributors to sustainable development of the UAE and beyond. AU exists to advance knowledge through research, to disseminate knowledge through teaching, and to provide services to its community for continued learning. Therefore, reproductions of information resources made for patrons with university identification can be assumed to be for fair use and non-commercial purposes. The Library collections contain scholarly materials intended for the academic community and as such are of a nature most appropriate to claims for fair use.

PURPOSE OF POLICY:

This policy is intended to serve as an in-house guide concerning the reproduction of library materials in AU library, in accordance with the UAE federal Law No. (7) of the year 2002, concerning copyrights and neighboring rights.

LIABILITY OF LIBRARY EMPLOYEES:

  1. Unsupervised Reproduction:

Liability for copyright violation may not be imposed on the library or its employees for unsupervised use of reproducing equipment located on its premises, provided that such equipment displays a notice that making copies may be subject to copyright law.

  1. Supervised Reproduction:

AU library will review this policy and determine that they are not in violation of copyright law before requesting that copies to be made. The Photocopy Center shall use this policy to review requests from other university departments and personnel.

POLICIES:

Copy Services:

It shall be the responsibility of AU library to review all photocopy requests for copyright conformity before submitting material to Photocopy Center. Therefore, library’s requests received by Photocopy Center will be assumed to follow the library’s copyright policy and will be filled accordingly.

Photocopy Center staff will consider AU University patron requests for photocopies to be permissible as fair use, provided that the following criteria are met:

  • Use is academic in nature, for non-profit, educational purposes.
  • Purpose is to make material available for study at patron's convenience.
  • Request is for a single copy of one original, as opposed to multiple copies of the same original.

RESERVES:

At the request of a faculty member, photocopies of articles or chapters of books may be placed on reserve. Under the guidelines of the UAE copyright law No. (7) of the year 2002, photocopies of these materials may be made without requiring permission from the copyright owner.

Material that has been photocopied by the library for the express purpose of being put on reserve will be the property of the library and will be retained for a specified period of time. If the material has not been requested during that time, it will be destroyed.

DOCUMENT DELIVERY:

AU library adhere to the fair use guidelines in providing photocopies to AU community. In line with the guidelines, the library will provide an individual member with one copy of any article(s) or chapter(s) needed from a publication.

INTERLIBRARY LOAN:

AU library strives to provide maximum participation in the interlibrary loan process for both AU users and for other libraries that ask us to provide materials to fill their users' requests. At the same time, the library attempts to follow the guidelines as mentioned in the UAE copyright law.

  • Borrowing: All requests for materials not available in the AU library should be requested using the ORS system to determine whether such requests can be met. AU Library will make every attempt to obtain material not owned by the library but needed by eligible AU users without violating copyright law.
  • Lending: AU library will respond to any request for a photocopy of an article as long as copyright conformity is indicated by the requesting library. We will assume that the requesting library is taking responsibility for both the nature and the amount of the material it is requesting. In the case of requests for dissertations and theses done at AU: AU library will lend e-copies of these materials.
  • PRESERVATION:

According to UAE copyright law No. (7), libraries and archives are permitted to take a sole copy of a work for the purpose of preservation. AU library will observe the following conditions before reproducing library materials for preservation purposes:

  • The material comes from collections that are open to the public.
  • Reproduction is made with no purpose of commercial advantage.
  • Notice of copyright is included in the reproduction.
  • For published works not in the public domain, a suitable replacement at a fair price will be sought, and reproduction undertaken only if an acceptable replacement is unavailable.

NON-BOOK MATERIALS:

AU library follows general copyright policy for all non-book items except under the special

circumstances noted below.

  • Video/Film/Sound Recordings
  • Complete copyrighted works or substantial portions will not be duplicated. If the material is out of print or no longer available at a fair price, duplication is allowed. Duplication is also allowed in accordance with the below.
  • Portions of commercially acquired copyrighted works may be copied for instructional purposes. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole must be considered in determining whether the use of the excerpt constitutes fair use.
  • Excerpt tapes (video/audio) produced by the AU are the property of AU and must be returned after class use.

2. Computer Software

The term computer software applies to all software for microcomputers, minicomputers, or any other device, and includes the software documentation. AU library will make a backup copy of any software it has purchased. The original then serves as the archive copy, while the backup copy becomes the service copy.

LICENSE AGREEMENTS:

When a product acquired by AU library is accompanied by a license agreement that require signatures, it should be clearly understood that the library, in most instances, is not acquiring ownership of the material but is instead acquiring only the rights, as set forth in the terms of the license agreement, to use the product. Terms set in license agreements are those of the publisher or distributor. AU library is not required to accept these terms as stated but can instead negotiate mutually acceptable terms with the publisher and distributor. If a license agreement cannot be mutually agreed upon and the library cannot accept the terms set forth, the only option is not to acquire the product.

Copyright in PowerPoint Presentations - FAQ *

  1. Can I use images from the web in PowerPoint presentations?

Yes, provided that:

  • You have obtained the work legally and have abided by normal copyright rules (e.g. 10% or 1 chapter from a book, etc.)
  • You cannot get a separately published version of the image ‘at a reasonable price in reasonable time’. (In practice this applies to the majority of images posted on the web.)
  • The images have been posted on the web by the legitimate copyright owner.
  • You have not altered or made changes to the image (If you want to make changes to the images then you will need to either request permission or look for images that are posted under licenses that allow derivative works.
  • The work is for educational use only (i.e. they have an educational purpose and are not just to make the PPT look more attractive. Use Public Domain works for prettying up your PPT).
  • You have acknowledged the source of the work, whether or not the material is in the public domain
  • “Images” includes paintings, drawings, maps, plans, charts, cartoons, prints, photographs and illustrations.
  1. Can I use images from printed material in PowerPoint presentations?
  • Yes, provided you abide by the above rules.
  • If you want to reproduce diagrams or charts et al from printed material (books/ journal articles) for something other than teaching or research then you will need to request permission from the copyright owner who may not necessarily be the author of the article.
  1. Can I use clips from YouTube in my PowerPoint?
  • You can play a clip from YouTube in a lecture provided you link to the clip and do not copy it, and that the original clip has been published online by the legitimate copyright owner.
  • There is no problem embedding the YouTube widget into the PowerPoint and putting the PPT in Moodle for students to access.
  • There is an issue if you copy the clip. For example, if your lecture is recorded you will need to either stop the recording while you play the clip or edit the clip out afterwards.
  1. Can I use quotes on PowerPoint?

Yes, provided they are acknowledged.

  1. Can I place the PowerPoint in Moodle?

Yes, provided you have placed a copyright waiver at the beginning of each presentation.

  1. Do I need to include a Reference List at the end of my presentation?

Maybe. You can either put full bibliographic details on each slide, or you can make a brief reference to the item and then include the main details in a Reference List on the last slide of your presentation.

  1. Can I use images I have created myself or have been taken from my own published book?
  • Yes, but you should include a statement to that effect at the beginning of your PowerPoint
  • If they are your own creation it would read like this:
  • “Unless otherwise indicated, images [or whatever you are using] included in this lecture were created by [insert your name or name of photographer] ©X College of XXX - AU 2021.”
  • If the creation is from your own publication it would read like this:
  • “Unless otherwise indicated, photographs [or whatever you are using] included in this lecture have been drawn from [insert citation of your work].”
  1. Can I use images from a Creative Commons or free site?

Certainly, but you should still acknowledge the source, giving as much information as possible.

  1. Can I use an image if I don’t know the creator or source?

No. It’s too risky and unethical anyway. If you have inherited a PowerPoint, or created one a long time ago that has not been properly acknowledged you will either need to remove the images, or find replacements.

 

 

* Avondale University

https://www.avondale.edu.au/ (accessed 14 Mar 2019)