21st Century Piracy - Copyright and you

Let's talk copyright. Often students are unsure of their rights and obligations with copyright. Basically, fair use provisions entitle you to copy 10% or 1 chapter of a book, 1 article from a journal, and 10% of the words or 1 chapter of electronic information. If you're really keen, you can check out the entire 1968 Copyright Act.

TAFE QLD's statement on copyright can be read here. There are many other resources available online to answer your copyright questions. Smartcopying is the official guide to copyright issues for Australian schools and TAFE. The Australian Copyright Council (ACC) is your one-stop-shop for all the copyright information you'll ever need! Two particularly useful resources are the ACC's downloadable and printable PDF information sheets Research or Study and Fair Use: some myths and misconceptions.

In copyright law, the objective of encouraging the creation of new works is balanced by the objective of making material available for socially desirable purposes such as research and education. The ACC states

"the purpose of copyright is to provide an incentive for people to produce new works for the benefit of society as a whole. The incentive is created by the opportunity to be paid when other people use and disseminate those works. Copyright can also reward people who create works without expecting payment, when their works end up being used by others."

Of course, if you dont want to be a copyright guru, just ask your library!