Electronic Resources in the Virtual Learning

Advice on obtaining copyright clearance
Even if a blanket licence were to exist in the UK, publishers are not
obliged to be part of it. In both Australia and the US there are still times
when it is necessary to obtain copyright clearance to use materials.
Therefore, this section discusses the set-up and structure of a copyright
clearance service within libraries and the type of work that is often
undertaken.
A number of UK libraries have already established centres or units for
copyright clearance work. This is often associated with paper course
pack provision or short loan off-print collections. For example, at
University College, London
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the Subject Support Unit was established
by Library Services in the mid-1990s to undertake copyright clearance
for the newly established paper course pack service. The unit has now
been restructured and renamed as the Teaching and Learning Support
Section, taking responsibility for both print and digital copyright
clearance requests. Similarly, the Electronic Copyright and Digitisation
Unit (ECDU) was established at the University of Derby in the 1990s to
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Electronic Resources in the Virtual Learning Environment
obtain copyright clearance for core readings.
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However, staffing in
many libraries is such that resources are not available to undertake
copyright clearance work. In the UK this work can be outsourced to the
HERON Service (discussed in Chapter 1), which will obtain copyright
clearance and digitise core readings for use in further and higher
education.
If resources and staff are available to undertake copyright permissions
in-house there are many issues that need to be considered. The time
taken to obtain copyright permission can vary, depending on individual
copyright holders. The first port of call for a permission request will
often be your national reprographic rights organisation. The CLA hold
a mandate for the majority of UK publishers and permissions obtained
via the CLA can take a matter of days. The CLA website contains details,
updated regularly, of excluded works and publishers that are not covered
by their licences.
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They also include a list of US publishers that are
covered by their licence. Permission requests can be submitted via e-mail,
using the CLARCS (Copyright Licensing Agency Rapid Clearance
Service). For many US works it is also possible to obtain copyright
clearance from the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) in the US.
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Institutions can set up an account with the CCC and where publishers
have mandated them, permission for electronic and paper copies can be
granted online immediately. In Australia, the Copyright Agency Limited
(CAL) offers a Copyright Express service via their website and can
approve copying by individuals who do not hold one of their licences or
copying that goes beyond the limits of their licences.
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Once again,
permissions can be approved online.
There may be instances where lecturers require readings from
publishers not covered by your reprographic rights organisation.
Alternatively you may wish to contact a publisher directly when dealing
with an ‘author permission’. Author permissions are where the author of
a work wishes to obtain permission to use the material. In these cases
you will need to approach the publishers directly and responses can take
anything from several weeks to several months, and sometimes a
response may not be received. In the first instance, a publisher’s website
is usually a good source of information for details about their rights and
permissions department. Follow the instructions provided here to submit
your request. This may mean faxing the publisher or completing an
online form. Small publishers may not have a specific department
dealing with rights, in which case you will need to use a general contact
e-mail to identify the correct person. Any permissions received either by
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Copyright and licensing digital texts
e-mail or letter should be kept on file for the duration of the licence
period.
There are a number of issues to consider when considering establishing
an electronic course pack/digital text service:
■
staff availability and expertise – both professional and clerical support
are vital if this service is going to be run in-house. Also consider that
outsourcing to HERON still requires a considerable degree of
administrative support;
■
equipment availability;
■
budget for paying copyright costs – will the costs be charged to
academic departments? Can the costs be top-sliced from departmental
budgets? Will a central budget be provided?
■
server space for readings;
■
administration – such services invariably involve copious paperwork
and a robust database or administrative process that helps you track
permissions requests and manage the licences is essential.
When deciding whether to obtain copyright clearance you should note:
■
You should not scan readings for classroom use without permission
from the copyright holders.
■
Publishers are not obliged to grant digital rights and some have an
outright policy not to allow material from their textbooks to be
digitised.
■
Obtaining permission for electronic environments can take longer
than obtaining paper clearances as some publishers still feel cautious
about the electronic environment.
■
In some instances, copyright lies with authors rather than publishers
and individuals can be notoriously difficult to trace.