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Copyright and research activityMonash University has specific policies (within an Intellectual Property Framework), governing the ownership of intellectual property arising from research activity. The University Solicitor's Office, in conjunction with the Office of Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research), manages issues relating to intellectual property ownership and contractual matters relating to the University's research activity. For further information on ownership of copyright by Monash, contracts involving intellectual property; review the Monash IP policies, Statutes and Regulations, or contact the Deputy University Solicitor, Glenda Beecher.
Information for staff researchers
As well as creating intellectual property, research activity frequently involves using or reproducing content created by others. That means researchers need to be aware of how best to manage copyright issues, not only with regard to the intellectual property arising from their own research findings, but also in regard to any third-party content used in the research activity and included in research output. Using third-party contentThird party content is basically any content not of your own creation: content presented in journal articles ('pre-print' or published), books, online blogs or discussions, research papers; all kinds of data; archival records; images, graphs, animations; source code; video footage; sound files... All of these items could be protected by copyright in different ways. In some cases third-party content may be out of copyright And some content may be available under flexible or open licence terms (but always be aware of the full terms and conditions attached to any licence). For content which is still within copyright and not available under an open licence, a researcher can rely on a special provision in the Copyright Act known as 'Fair Dealing' for the use of third-party content during the actual process of conducting research. Be aware, however, that the ultimate publication or broad distribution of third-party content embedded within research output is not considered a 'Fair Dealing'. In most cases, researchers will then need to secure copyright permissions for any third-party content included within research destined for publication or broad dissemination.
The Resources and downloads page on this site also has some sample permission letters (NB Access restricted to Monash University staff and students). Republishing your own workStaff often need to know whether they can 'republish' their articles or conference papers on their own personal institutional webpage or within their institution's research repository. Some funding bodies now make it a requirement that research output be published on an open access basis as well as, or in preference to, the more traditional, commercial publishing channels. It is therefore important that staff know and understand the terms of any publishing agreement or contract into which they enter when publishing their research work. Increasingly, publishers are recognising the needs of the global research community to make their work available on an open access basis. But each publisher handles this differently so it pays to check the terms of the contract or agreement. In some cases, authors may need to negotiate suitable terms with their publisher. Refer to the very useful guide on the subject, provided by QUT's OAKLaw project:
The following article may also be of interest:
The Monash ARROW research repositoryMonash University has a well established open access research repository: ARROW. The repository is administered through the Library and operates in conjunction with the research data and storage activities of the Monash University eResearch Centre (MeRC). Staff and HDR students are encouraged to submit research publications and other publishable data for inclusion in the repository. Will my publisher allow me to republish?If you want to know whether a publisher allows its authors to 'self archive' or republish articles in institutional research repositories like ARROW, the following websites may help (references courtesy of the OAKLaw project):
(You can find a more extensive list on p. 151 in the on the OAKLaw publication Understanding Open Access in the Academic Environment: A Guide for Authors as cited above) For studentsIn most cases, students retain copyright in any coursework they create during their degree. Where an academic staff member wishes to make use of a student's work in their own teaching (ie as a demonstration piece for other students) the staff member needs to seek permission, preferably in writing, from the student to make that use of their work. For certain post-graduate degrees, the University may make assignment of copyright or licensing of some kinds of intellectual property a condition of the degree. An agreement would be made in accordance with the University Statues and Regulations. Send an email inquiry to the University's Copyright Adviser. |