Using Images & Artistic Works for Educational Purposes
For a general information about copyright see Overview of Copyright. For general information about copyright & images see Artistic Works
The Copyright Act categorises images as artistic works. Artistic works also includes photographs, charts, graphs, diagrams, cartoons, illustrations, maps, graphs, building plans, sculptures, drawings, paintings, logos, engravings, sketches, blueprints and buildings or models of buildings. The University is able to reproduce and/or communicate images and other artistic works for educational purposes. Communicate means to make the item available online or to email or fax the item to someone. You can:
- scan a print an image to create an electronic copy to place online on the LMS,
- make a copy of an image to include it in a course pack,
- make multiply copies of images to give as handouts in class,
- print out an electronic image to include in a course pack or give as a handout.
Some conditions and limitation apply:
- Limit the amount copied
- you may reproduce or communicate an image from a print source, e.g. a textbook, if it can not be separately purchased at a reasonable price within a reasonable time.
- you may reproduce or communicate an image from an electronic source, e.g. a website. There is no need to check whether or not is separately available.
- There are no limits on the number of copies that you can make e.g. if there are 400 students in the course, you can make 400 copies, plus spares.
- It must be for educational purposes - educational purposes are defined as reproducing or communicating material for a particular course of instruction or for the administration of that course. They also cover reproducing material to be included in a library collection. Educational purposes do not cover general or commercial activities of the University, such as marketing and promotion.
- You must attribute each image with a full citation - for information about correctly citing material see: Citation Styles within the University.
- If placing the image online you must also:
- Restrict access to University of Melbourne staff and students - material can be placed on a LMS but not on an open access website.
- Include a copyright warning notice on each image - the notice should appear either before the image is opened or on the page with the image. Copies of the notices are available here. Instructions for inserting the copyright notice are available in the Do-It-Yourself & Online Course Material guide.
Readings Online can help!
Readings Online is a service that can make your reading materials available online via the LMS. Simply provide a reading list to Readings Online and they will do the rest. For more information visit the Readings Online website.
Further Information
- Overview of Copyright
- Do-It-Yourself & Online Course Material
- Creating a Course Pack - a cheat sheet
- Online Teaching Resources & Copyright - a guide from the Copyright Office
- Introduction to Copyright -a guide from the Copyright Office
- Using Copyright Material for Research or Study
- Fast-Find Index - an A-Z glossary of copyright terms and topics
- Contact the University Copyright Office
Content updated 17/01/08