Copyright literacy – the ‘knowledge, skills and behaviours that individuals require when working with copyright content in the digital age’ (Morrison and Secker, 2015) – is an essential part of academic and professional skillsets. It is also much more than complying with licences and the law. It is about understanding how copyright came to be, what it seeks to achieve, whose interests are relevant and how it can be used as a tool to make knowledge more open and collaborative.

At UCL we have a service, a range of resources and an education programme to support and advise staff and students on various aspects to copyright.  This is informed and constantly updated based on feedback from participants, common queries that we receive, and developments that raise new issues to address, such as copyright in AI-generated works. However, to develop copyright literacy in ways that are most relevant and helpful to you, we would like to work with you.

‘Apple harvest’ by Camille Pissarro, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

We are setting up the UCL Copyright Literacy Community to give all UCL staff and students the opportunity to shape copyright literacy further. We would like to work with you to make the UCL community even more knowledgeable and confident around copyright. Whether you are a student (undergraduate, postgraduate, research student) or a member of staff in a research, teaching or professional services role, we value your ideas and experiences.

• You don’t need to be a copyright expert to join: we anticipate that members of the community will have different levels of copyright knowledge and will learn from eah other. What is needed is an understanding of the relevance of copyright literacy in your area, and a willingness to embed it into your practice.
• As part of the community, you will have the opportunity to advise on the further development of the existing programme, bring forward your own suggestions and prioritise areas where further support is needed. You will work with us to translate these ideas into projects that are directly relevant to your area.
• You will be part of a supportive peer network that discusses all things copyright. We will provide enough steering and resources for you to take the community in directions that help you and your practice area.

In the first instance, we invite UCL staff and students to join a core community of 20 people. The first meeting is being scheduled in late June. We anticipate a broader community to develop later.

If you are interested in joining or would like more information, please contact copyright@ucl.ac.uk.

Related articles: ‘Getting comfortable with uncertainty’: developing students’ critical copyright literacy in the age of genAI, by Christine Daoutis and Hazel Ingrey. UCL Education conference blog, April 2024.

Promoting copyright literacy is a significant task for library and information professionals, wherever they happen to work. IFLA  (the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) has just published an important statement on Copyright Literacy The statement is measured and comprehensive, stressing the importance of the role of libraries in maximising access to copyright-protected materials for their patrons within the legal framework of copyright. Copyright literacy is about understanding what you can do, legitimately, with copyright-protected material as much as understanding what copyright prevents you from doing. In the words of the IFLA Statement:

“…alongside the responsibility to recognise intellectual property rights, there is a parallel duty not to impose unnecessary restrictions on users’ right to access information. In short, libraries should use all possibilities provided by the law to give access and enable learning.” The statement also emphasises, quite rightly, the important role of Librarians in advocating for reform of copyright legislation and in particular advocating for robust limitations and exceptions to copyright. All those who have been involved in promoting the Copyright Literacy agenda within IFLA and in creating the Statement should be congratulated.

One of my favourite events is the Learning on Screen AGM day.  For the past few years I have benefitted from the fantastic speakers they draw together, speaking on the themes of audiovisual material and copyright.

Last year’s session A case study on Audiovisual Essay (19 minutes) provoked me to think on the importance of timing in *when* to deliver copyright training.  Dr. Catherine Grant, the engaged, informed academic had such an excellent working knowledge of copyright, and how to use UK copyright exceptions in a research or education setting, that she was using third party material with confidence and passing this confidence and excellent academic practice on to her students.  Get it right from the start and you will be empowered to use more third party material – even with ‘difficult’ resources like moving image.

This year the theme was around Creativity, copyright and citation.  Three things really caught my attention and had me scribbling down ideas for training or support at UCL.

1. Dr. Shane O’Sullivan spoke about his students using archive footage to create their own films. Having worked in industry he automatically passed on his high standards of copyright understanding to his students, balancing a healthy respect for works with practicalities of re-using them. He encouraged students to balance third party material with their own original material (for pedagogic reasons); ‘work with broadcasters, not around them’; and said rights clearance had to be ‘achieveable’ – by using works by companies such as the BFI and Crown Copyright.  There are some copyright exceptions that could also be used in in this educational essay work, or review / critique setting.
2. The e-CHARM project, commissioned by Learning on Screen and carried out by the engaging UK Copyright Literacy team and colleague, had its results presented today. The report will be available in 2018 and identified many areas where support and information is needed. For fans, the report from their last project, Lecture recording in HE: risky business or evolving open practice is available on Open Access.
3. The first note I wrote to myself was ‘AV citation standards. Any guides’?  And by the last session I had one in my hands: the updated Audiovisual Citation guidelines by Learning on Screen, including new media such as Podcasts and vlogs.  All my questions answered at once!

Learning on Screen is the new name of the BUFVC, of which UCL is a member.  It provides services such as TRILT, Box of Broadcasts, off-air recordings (and more) which are wonderful research and teaching resources.  Our use of these are supported by UCL’s ERA licence. Get in touch if you have questions about using any of these!