Conferences
Presenting at a Conference
If you are giving a presentation at a conference and it includes copyright material created by other people, you will need to make sure that you have the right to use it. There are limited provisions in the Copyright Act that allow copyright material to be used at conferences. You can include a brief quote or short extract of text, see insubstantial portions. You can also include material if you are critiquing or reviewing it, see fair dealing for criticism or review.
You can also try and source material that is "copyright friendly". For example, Flickr has a wide range of photos licensed under Creative Commons, as does Google Images. See our guides:
In most other situations, you will need to get permission from the copyright owner.
If you intend to publish or make your conference presentation available online, you will need to make sure that any permission covers that as well.
The conference organisers may wish to record your presentation. You have the right to give or deny consent. You also have rights over how the recording is used. These are known as performers' rights. It is recommended that if your presentation is recorded that the conference organisers provide a written explanation of how the recording will be used. Ideally, they will have a formal agreement for you to sign, but some of the smaller conferences may not use agreements or consent forms. Again, if you give your consent for your presentation to be recorded, you will need to make sure you have the rights to include any copyright material in your presentation in the recording.
Organising a Conference
If the University is hosting a conference, it is important that steps are taken to make sure that the conference is copyright compliant.
If you wish to record the conference presentations, you will need to get consent from the presenters. The University's Audio Visual Consent Deed can be used. The consent deed also allows the recording to be made available online.
If you intend to film or photograph participants or presenters, you will need to get their consent. The A-V Consent deed covers both filming and photographing. If you are just taking photographs, then you can use the Photo Release Consent Deed. For more information see Photographing and Filming People.
If conference presenters have included copyright material created by other people in their presentation, they will need to make sure that they have the necessary rights to use that material. There are limited provisions in the Copyright Act that will allow material to be used at the conference and permission is generally required from the copyright owner.
If you intend to publish the conference presentations or make them available online, you will need to get permission from the presenters. The Copyright Office has a publishing deed that can be used. Please contact us to discuss your requirements.
The University has a music licence that allows music to be performed at conferences and other events hosted by the University. For more information see The Music Licence.
If an external conference has hired a University venues for their conference and the University is not actually hosting the conference but is simply providing the venue. It is the responsibility of the conference organisers to ensure that they comply with copyright.
17/11/11