Copyright
This section is designed to give some useful information on the topic of copyright as relates to depositing in an institutional repository. Please note: this document can only provide guidelines and should not be relied on for legal advice. For further questions please contact the DSpace@Cambridge team.
When you deposit a paper in DSpace@Cambridge you confirm that you have permission to do so. It is your responsibility to ensure you are not infringing copyright by depositing material into the repository.
The principal legislation on copyright is the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. It has been amended on a number of occasions. Useful information on copyright can also be obtained from the UK Intellectual Property Office.
Detailed information on copyright and commonly encountered copyright issues can be found on the website of the University's Legal Services Office.
Who owns copyright?
In the case of University staff, the position regarding copyright in works they create is set out in their terms and conditions of employment and in the University's Intellectual Property Rights policy. The policy states that for most works, copyright in a work belongs to its creator, except where a funding or sponsorship agreement provides otherwise or the work is created for the administrative or managerial purposes of the University or is commissioned by the University e.g. special reports on University policy, library catalogues etc.
The University's Intellectual Property Rights policy also addresses copyright in works generated by students. Generally, copyright in a work created by a student is owned by that student, except where the student's funding or sponsorship agreement states otherwise, or where the student is engaged in research that is governed by an agreement between the University and a third party which states otherwise, or where the student is working in collaboration with others in a way that gives rise to joint or interdependent creation of intellectual property including copyright. More information on copyright issues pertaining to sponsored and collaborative research is available from the Board of Graduate Studies.
Ownership of copyright for non-textual works
Following are very general guidelines on who owns copyright for non-textual material (employer or sponsor arrangements apply as explained above): The photographer is the first owner of copyright in a photograph. For sound recordings the first owner of copyright is the producer, for films the copyright lies jointly with the producer and principal director. For typographical arrangements of a published edition the copyright lies with the publisher.
Important guidance for all people taking, recording, commissioning and using photographs, video and audio is provided by the Legal Services Office and the Office of External Affairs and Communications of the University of Cambridge.
Co-authors’ permissions
A work of joint authorship arises from collaboration between two or more authors and the contribution each has made to the work cannot be distinguished from the contribution of the other. In this case please ensure you have the consent of each co-author to deposit work in DSpace@Cambridge on their behalf. If the contributions of each author to a work are distinct, the parts contributed by each have separate copyrights, unless agreed otherwise.
What is protected by copyright?
Copyright subsists in and protects a range of different types of works, for example: documents, reports, papers, data, letters, tables, computer programs, databases, photographs, typographical arrangements of published editions, sculptures, sound recordings, films and broadcasts.
Works may contain many separate copyright. For example, a book or journal article may contain text and tables (treated by copyright law as literary works) and photographs or maps (artistic works). If you have used third-party material in your work please ensure you have permission for deposit from the copyright holder of such material.