Identifying Infringing Material
Copyright Statements | Use Official or Reputable Sites | User Generated Sites | Quality of Material | Context and Type of Material | Related Topics | More Infromation
A lot of material is made available on the web without permission from the creator or the copyright owner and as such is infringing copyright. You should not knowingly use or provide links to infringing websites or material on a website as you will be infringing copyright or authorising an infringement. It can be difficult to identify whether or not material is made available legally and with permission.
Material - particularly music, films and TV programs - that can be freely downloaded via peer-to-peer (p2p) software is often infringing material. Under no circumstances should this material be downloaded and used. Downloading this material is both illegal and a violation of University policy. Staff or students found to have downloaded this material using University computers and networks may be subject to disciplinary action.
Below are some tips to help you determine whether or not material on a website is legal:
- Check the website for a copyright statement or terms of use for a clear statement of ownership.
- Use a reputable, legitimate or official website.
- Be careful when using user-generated content sites like Youtube, Vimeo or Flickr.
- Check the quality of the material.
- Check that material is properly labelled with a full acknowledgement - infringing material is less likely to be properly acknowledged.
- If it's too good to be true, it probably is.
- If you are unsure, contact the Copyright Office for assistance.
Copyright Statements
Check the website for a copyright statement and a clear statement of ownership. Most major websites will clearly indicate that they own copyright or that they have been granted permission or a licence to use the material on their website. The website will include a basic copyright statement (e.g. © University of Melbourne 2010) and often a webpage with more detailed copyright information. A link to this information can be found on the home page, often located at the very bottom of the webpage. The wording for the link can vary: for example "Copyright", "Conditions of Use", "Terms and Conditions", "Terms of Use", "Legal" or "Disclaimer" are commonly used terms. Below are some examples of copyright statements on websites:
Some websites may not include detailed copyright information and may just include a basic copyright statement (or nothing). and this does not necessarily mean that they are infringing or not subject to copyright.
Some sites also include Terms of Use which explain how their material can be used. For more information see Terms and Conditions.
Use Official or Reputable Sites
Use a reputable, legitimate or official website. Depending on the content, there may be an official website available that you can use, rather than unofficial sites where content may or may not be properly licensed. If material has been made available on an official site by the creator or copyright owner then you know that they have made it available to be used as permitted under copyright law or as covered by their terms and conditions. For example, if you would like to download a podcast from an ABC program, download it from the ABC’s website, you know then that it’s legal.
In some cases, the official website may only have limited content available (for example the official Leunig website) which
Copyright Friendly MaterialBelow are links to lists of sources of copyright friendly material that is available for a variety or purposes. . Films & Vodcasts. Artistic Works & Photographs . Recorded Music . Sound Recordings & Podcasts . Literary Works |
often means that the creator or copyright owner has choosen not to make their work available on the internet. This can be a good indicator that other sites that make the material available are probably doing so without the knowledge and permission of the copyright owner.
User Generated Sites
Care should be taken when using sites, such as YouTube, Google video, Vimeo and Flickr, where users contribute content. Although these sites are reputable and well known sites, not all users understand copyright and ensure that the material they contribute is copyright compliant. You should make sure that you do not link or embed links to material from these sites that you know is infringing. The hosts of these sites make it clear to their users that they must not infringe copyright and may remove content that infringes content. Because of the popularity and high profile of the sites, many companies and organisations are often legitimately making that material available for people to view and access (for example, the ABC has an official Youtube channel as do the Muppets). In addition to following the steps outlined on this page, you should also check the profile of the user to see if they are the creator of the material or have the rights to upload the material.
Quality of the Material
Check the quality of the material on the website. Material that has been made available by the copyright owner or with their permission is likely to be high quality. A poor quality version may indicate that the material is infringing. However, give that technology makes it easy to create perfect copies, a good quality copy does not always mean that the copy is legal and you may need to consider some of the other factors such as the site that the material is available from etc.
Context and Type of Material
Sometimes it can be helpful to consider the type of material and the context in which it is available, and remember that it if appears too good to be true then it probably is. Use your common sense and judgement. If you find a website where you can freely download the latest Hollywood blockbuster, chances are it's not legal. Music, movies, TV shows, computer software and games are frequently made available illegally but at the same time some copyright owners are choosing to make their material freely available for people to watch or trial. So how can you tell the difference? When this material is made available legally it is often with the aim of encouraging you to buy the product so it is unlikely to be made available:
- In full - excerpts from a film or TV show or a book may be made available legally but in most cases you can only download or view the trailer or the first episode or the first chapter, as the copyright owner wants you to buy the full product, e.g. the whole book or the whole series on DVD.
- Permanently - many TV stations now make recently aired episodes of their programs available on their website to be viewed as "catch up TV, for example the ABC's iView but it is usually only for a limited period. Trial versions of software that can be downloaded free usually expire after 30 days, after which you have to buy a licence.
- For download - often copyright owners will stream their material so that you can watch online but you can't download it. If you want to download a copy to watch away from your PC, you will need to purchase a copy.
- For free - in many cases if you want permanent and full access or your own copy you will need to purchase it. If the material, can be freely and legally download, there is usually a very clear and definite statement to that effect and that the person or website making the material available has the right to do.
A good ruleof thumb is that if you would normally expect to pay to use or own this material, be cautious if you find it free on the web and check carefully that it is legal.
Related Topics
More Information?
- Introduction to Copyright -a guide from the Copyright Office
- Copyright Information and Awareness Sessions
- News from the Copyright Office - including RSS feed
- Contact the University Copyright Office
Updated 23/07/10(HT)