Copyright Office

Theses

Theses are unpublished literary works.

Writing a Thesis

Reproducing other people's research

A thesis will often include copyright material from other people (known as third party copyright material). Authors of theses will rely on fair dealing for research & study to reproduce third party copyright material. Fair dealing for research & study also covers reproducing copyright material as part of the research process, e.g. photocopying or downloading journal articles. Limitations and conditions apply to using material under fair dealing.

Authors may also be able to include third party copyright material in their thesis under fair dealing for criticism & review or parody & satire. Conditions apply.

If copyright material has been included in the thesis under fair dealing for research & study this only applies for examination and assessment purposes. If the thesis, or parts of the thesis, are going to be published permission to reproduce any third party copyright material is required from the copyright owner. This will apply whether the thesis is published as a book, as journal articles or electronically on a personal website or digital repository such as University of Melbourne eprints Repository (UMER). Fair dealing for research & study allows material to be reproduced but not published or communicated online.

Any third party copyright material included in the thesis must be fully and correctly acknowledged. This is a requirement of the moral rights provision in the Copyright Act as. Endnote software is also available to help manage references and bibliographies.

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Copyright in the Thesis

Once a thesis is written it will be protected by copyright as a literary work. The author will be the copyright owner, unless they assign copyright to another party. For example, if the thesis, or chapters from it, are published as journal articles, the publisher usually requires that copyright is licensed to them. This may prevent the author from republishing the thesis or putting it on their personal website.

It is recommended that if authors are publishing their thesis and are signing any agreements that they keep a copy of the agreement and if necessary seek legal advice. University of Melbourne students can contact the Student Union for legal advice.

For full details about copyright and completing a theses, see our guide Copyright & Your Thesis (b&w version for printing)

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Other People's Theses

Under the Copyright Act, a theses is considered an unpublished literary work and is subject to copyright. As with any copyright material, there are provisions for using theses for certain purposes without having to seek permission from the copyright owner.

Educational Purposes

Theses can be reproduced and communicated for educational purposes under the statutory licence. If required, a theses can be reproduced or communicated in full as it is an unpublished work. All the other conditions and requirements for using material under the statutory licence also apply. See Guidelines for Using Copyright Material for Educational Purposes.

Research & Study

Theses can be reproduced for research & study purposes under fair dealing. Fair Dealing also applies if the theses is being reproduced for critiscism & review or parody & satire.

Other Purposes

Theses being reproduced or communicated for other purposes such as publication, for a conference or on a website can only be done with the permission of the copyright owner. See Requesting Permission From a Copyright Owner to Reproduce Material.

Locating Theses

As theses are unpublished works locating copies can be difficult.

University of Melbourne Theses

Print copies of University of Melbourne Masters & PhD theses are held by the University Library in Special Collections. Theses can be viewed in the Special Collections Reading Room but are not available for loan. Theses can be copied on request by Special Collection staff for research & study, educational purposes or for inclusion in a library collection. For more information see The University of Melbourne Thesis Collection.

Honours theses are held by the department in which the thesis was completed. In some cases, departmental copies of theses are held by a branch library. To access an honours thesis contact the department or branch library directly. Not all departments or branch libraries allow their honours theses to be copied, check with the department or branch library.

Selected University of Melbourne theses, particularly older theses, are available online via the University of Melbourne eprints Repository (UMER).

Other University Theses

Theses completed at other universities are available from a number of sources:

Alternatively, contact the University Library for assistance in locating a theses.

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Further Information

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