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Copyright procedure

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Section 1 - Preamble

(1) This Procedure is effective from 30 May 2013.

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Section 2 - Purpose

(2) This Procedure outlines the steps required to comply with copyright legislation and policies at the University.

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Section 3 - Scope

(3) This Procedure applies to all staff, students and associates of the University.

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Section 4 - Policy

(4) This Procedure is pursuant to the Copyright policy.

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Section 5 - Procedures

(5) Staff members, students and associates of the University will use copyright materials in accordance with legislation, this Procedure, the Deakin University Copyright Guidelines and Requirements, and any applicable contractual arrangements and licences. The onus is on the staff member to be aware of these requirements prior to using copyright materials.

(6) Staff members who infringe copyright will be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with the Staff Discipline policy.

(7) Unit Chairs will ensure that all of their teaching materials comply with the Deakin University Copyright Guidelines and Requirements website prior to release.

(8) The Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education will ensure that all teaching materials produced by Learning Futures comply with Deakin University Copyright Guidelines and Requirements website prior to release.

(9) The Executive Director, DeakinCo. or their delegate will review all of their pre-prepared teaching materials to ensure they comply with the Deakin University Copyright Guidelines and Requirements website prior to release.

(10) Researchers will ensure that all research outputs comply with the Deakin University Copyright Guidelines and Requirements website.

(11) The University Librarian or their delegate will manage copyright issues relating to all material deposited in the Deakin Research Online to ensure that the University is complying with its obligations to third parties.

(12) Designated Web Managers will manage copyright issues relating to materials on their sites in accordance with Deakin University Copyright Guidelines and Requirements.

Infringement claims (take-down notices)

(13) Copyright owners or agents may make any claims of copyright infringement (take-down notices) to the Take-down Officer in accordance with the guidelines on the University Copyright webpage.

(14) The Take-down Officer or their delegate will acknowledge receipt of the notice, and confirm the action taken.

(15) On receipt of a take-down notice, the Take-down Officer will ensure that the copyright material specified in the notice and residing on the University's system or network is expeditiously removed or that access to it is disabled.

(16) As soon as practicable after removing or disabling access to copyright material the Take-down Officer will send to the user who stored the copyright material on its system or network:

  1. a copy of the notice of claimed infringement
  2. a notification advising that the copyright material has been removed, or that access to it has been disabled
  3. a notification advising that if the user wishes to dispute the claimed infringement they may issue a counter-notice, setting out the grounds for dispute. The counter-notice must be forwarded to the Take-down Officer within three months after the user receives the copy of the notice of claimed infringement.

(17) On receipt of a counter-notice from a user, the Take-down Officer may make amendments to the counter-notice, including information that may identify the user, before sending to the copyright owner or agent who issued the notice of claimed infringement:

  1. a copy of the counter-notice
  2. a notification stating that if the copyright owner or agent does not bring an action seeking a court order to restrain the activity that is claimed to be infringing within 10 working days after the date the notice was sent, the University will restore, or enable access to, the copyright material on its system or network.

(18) The University will restore or enable access to the copyright material in the event that either:

  1. the Take-down Officer does not, within 10 working days, receive notification from the copyright owner or agent that an action is being brought; or
  2. the Take-down Officer is notified that an action for infringement of the copyright in the copyright material has been discontinued or was unsuccessful.

(19) The Take-down Officer shall maintain a copy of all documentation and correspondence pertaining to a take-down notice in the University's document management system (TRIM).

(20) The use of take-down notices to remedy a possible copyright infringement does not prevent the copyright owner from taking further legal action if they desire.

University copyright

Teaching materials

(21) The Executive Director, Human Resources will ensure that all offers of employment and employment agreements made by the University advise staff member that the University owns the copyright in any teaching materials created by them during their employment, pursuant to s. 35 (6) of Copyright Act 1968 (Cth).

(22) Heads of Organisational Units will ensure that where the University commissions the creation of teaching materials (other than by a staff member in pursuance of their terms of employment) the author or creator of that material agrees in writing to assign the copyright and any other intellectual property in the material to the University. Any such agreement must be entered into before the creation of the material.

(23) Where staff members together with members of another organisation create teaching materials, the creation of those materials must be the subject of an agreement in writing. The agreement should specify who will own the copyright and all other intellectual property in the materials and in what proportions. All appropriate written assignments must be entered into before the creation of the materials.

Non-teaching materials

(24) On receipt of a request from an external body to use University copyright materials, other than teaching materials, the University Copyright Manager will seek permission from the relevant Head of Organisational Unit.

Commercial agreements

(25) The Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education may enter into a commercial agreement with external bodies, in writing, to deal with the University's copyright materials.

(26) Staff members who wish to enter into a commercial agreement to use Deakin University copyright materials must first obtain approval from the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education.

Moral rights

(27) Staff members and students must acknowledge the authors or creators of a work that they reproduce and/or communicate, which is not of their own creation, in accordance with the Deakin University Copyright Guidelines and Requirements.

(28) Authors of teaching materials may request, in writing, not to be attributed.

(29) The Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education will assist authors of teaching materials in asserting their moral rights where any breach of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) or any breach of the following academic convention has occurred:

  1. the right to have materials the author created attributed to him or her
  2. the right to approve alterations to materials the author creates.

(30) The Vice-Chancellor may request staff members to waive their moral rights.

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Section 6 - Definitions

(31) For the purpose of this Procedure:

  1. associate: a contractor, volunteer, visiting appointee or visitor to the University.
  2. moral right: the rights given to authors by Part IX of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), being the rights (a) to attribution of authorship, (b) not to have authorship falsely attributed and (c) of integrity of authorship).
  3. take-down notice: a method of notifying individuals or organisations of an alleged copyright infringement, allowing time for any breach of copyright to be rectified.
  4. Take-down Officer: the officer responsible for dealing with any breach of copyright charged in a take-down notice. The Take-down Officer will be the Executive Director, Architecture and Change, eSolutions.