Information about using copyrighted materials in WUR courses and teaching.

Introduction 

This knowledge article explains how teachers can use copyrighted materials in a Brightspace course, a reader or MOOC.

For more information about copyright ownership of educational materials, MOOCs, video recordings of lectures, presentations, ceremonies, or BSc and MSc theses, see the knowledge article about Find out who owns copyright of (scholarly) output.

How can teachers use copyright-protected material in their courses?

WUR teachers develop teaching materials for both WUR and non-WUR students (e.g. in MOOCs). When teachers publish educational resources in a learning environment, such as Brightspace, or in a reader for WUR students, they must follow Dutch copyright law and (the WUR Library’s) copyright agreements with publishers. The most important agreement is the Easy Access agreement. The Easy Access agreement does not apply to MOOCs. Teachers may not use copyrighted materials in a MOOC unless the materials’ copyright owner has granted written permission.

The Library’s copyright specialists have developed this flowchart to help WUR teachers choose the right option when using copyrighted material in Brightspace.

What is the Easy Access agreement?

According to Dutch copyright law, if you do not own a work’s copyright, you cannot use and distribute this material in your work. However, the law does have exceptions, such as the right to cite and reference and the right to use copyright-protected material for non-commercial education.

Copyrighted material may be used for non-commercial education when only a part or parts of the protected material are used and when the copyright owner is reasonably compensated for use. To efficiently use copyright-protected material, Stichting UvO, representing publishers, and the UNL, representing Dutch universities, have a standing agreement (the Easy Access agreement) that allows WUR to use copyrighted material in exchange for an annual lump-sum payment.

This Easy Access agreement allows teachers to:

• use a maximum of 40 pages and
• not more than 20% of a complete book or journal issue in a Brightspace course or in a reader.

However, WUR policy requires teachers to provide a hyperlink to the material when possible. The Easy Access Agreement does not apply to MOOCs.

What is the current policy of Wageningen University & Research?

WUR policy requires teachers to provide hyperlinks to materials instead of uploading a PDF with the full text when possible. This also accounts for copyright-protected material that is covered by the Easy Access agreement. Linking to copyrighted material is free when the materials are made available with the copyright owner’s consent. This policy reduces the annual fee that WUR has to pay to use copyrighted material. This fee is based on actual use.

See How can I correctly link to copyright protected material? for information on what kind of links you can use.

Can I share copyrighted materials in Brightspace as a PDF?

Sharing a PDF in Brightspace is not always allowed. WUR requires the use of a hyperlink to a document whenever possible. Please use the flowchart to choose the right option when sharing copyright protected material in Brightspace.

What materials can I, as a teacher, use on Brightspace or in my readers?

Linking to copyrighted material is always allowed if the copyright owner has made the material available. WUR policy requires teachers to provide hyperlinks to the material instead of uploading the full-text of the material. See How can I correctly link to copyright protected material? for information on what kind of links you can use.

Books

If WUR Library subscribes to an eBook, use the link to the eBook in Brightspace. Often, the licence conditions of the subscription do not allow sharing a PDF in Brightspace.

If linking is not possible, you may use a maximum of 40 pages and not more than 20% of the complete book in your Brightspace course or in a reader. The limit applies to the total book, not to each individual chapter. You may use more than one book per course. Open Access material may be made publicly available on Brightspace under the same conditions as regular material. Please make sure that when using books you always acknowledge the sources by correctly citing and referencing them.

Journal articles

If WUR Library subscribes to the journal, use the link to the article in Brightspace. In most cases, the licence conditions of the subscription do not allow sharing a full-text PDF in Brightspace. Open Access material may be made publicly available on Brightspace under the same conditions as regular material. Only articles with a Creative Commons licence that allows sharing can be shared as a PDF in Brightspace. Please make sure that when using journal articles you always acknowledge the sources by correctly citing and referencing them.

If the above-mentioned options are not possible, you may use a maximum of 40 pages and not more than 20% of the journal issue in your Brightspace course or in a reader.

Images and graphs

You may use a maximum of 25 images/tables/figures from one book or journal issue and a maximum of 10 works from the same creator. Open Access material may be made publicly available on Brightspace under the same conditions as regular material. The sources need to be acknowledged by correctly citing and referencing.

What should I do when I want to use more than 'Stichting UvO' allows?

If you  need to use more than 40 pages or 20% of a book or journal issue, you have several options:

• Hyperlink to the copyrighted material on a website where the material is placed with the consent of the copyright owner, when possible. This is in line with the current WUR policy.
• Ask the copyright owners for permission to use the material (ask CIP for assistance).
• Search for an open alternative for your material.
• Ask WUR Library if a journal subscription allows the use of these larger portions.
• Ask WUR Library to buy the book.
• Ask students to buy the book.
• Ask the Copyright Information Point to request permission from Stichting UvO to use the material. Please note that this option will incur costs for your chair group.

If you need assistance with one of these options, please contact the Copyright Information Point (CIP).

If you need more than the maximum of 25 images/tables/figures from one book or journal issue, you should ask written permission from the publisher. Please make sure to save a copy of the written permission when you receive it.

May I use my own material for my readers?

You may use your own publications, unless copyright has been transferred or exclusively licensed to a third party without the right to use this material for education. In that case, the Easy Access agreement applies. In the case of a co-authored publication, of which your co-authors own the copyright, you need permission from all the copyright owners to use the material. Please remember to save a copy of the written permission.

Some journals allow the following versions of a manuscript to be used in a reader or on Brightspace: pre-prints (accepted but not peer reviewed version), post-prints (accepted and peer reviewed versions) or publisher versions (accepted publisher version). See the website of Open Policy Finder for the publisher policies per journal.

May I share Library subscribed materials with students as a PDF?

WUR Library subscribes to thousands of e-journals and e-books. Although WUR Library has a subscription to an e-journal or e-book, this doesn’t mean you are allowed to share the material as a PDF. You should provide a hyperlink to this material. And if you want to share a part of the publication as a PDF, you need to comply with the Easy Access agreement when using materials for which the WUR Library has a subscription.

May I share Open Access material on Brightspace?

No, unless explicit permission is given for reuse, Open Access material may not be shared elsewhere. Open Access material is freely available for everyone, but this does not automatically allow you to share the material. Using a hyperlink to Open Access material is always allowed.

Open Access material might come with a Creative Commons licence (CC licence). All material published with a CC licence may be included in your teaching material in full. Please check the conditions of use of CC licensed material before usage.

How can I correctly link to copyright protected material?

What kinds of links should I use?

You can only provide links to websites with material that is made available with the owner's permission. As a teacher, you cannot promote the use of illegal copies. Illegal copies are difficult to recognise, though, so at least refrain from linking to websites that have nothing to do with the publisher or author.

Make sure to use stable links, such as DOI links. URLs on a publisher's website tend to change regularly. A DOI link follows these changes and usually redirects to the correct URL. Not having to repair broken links every year will save you time.

You can also use EZproxy links, which guarantee easy off-campus access to library sources because they prompt students to log in. Using an EZproxy link is a kind gesture to your students and also lowers the hurdle for students to come to class prepared. We recommend using EZproxy in combination with a DOI link.

How do I create a DOI link?

A DOI link consists of two components:

http://doi.org/ + a DOI (e.g. 10.1038/nature12251) = http://doi.org/10.1038/nature12251

The DOI or DOI link can usually be found on the first page of a journal article or an e-book chapter, on a publisher’s website, or in the record of a publication in a database like Scopus.

How do I create an EZproxy link?

To create an EZproxy link, you have to add the following URL in front of a normal URL: http://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/rduser/ezproxy?url=

A full EZproxylink will look like this:

http://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/rduser/ezproxy?url=http://doi.org/10.1038/nature12251

On campus, students can directly access the article if the Library subscribes to the journal. When off-campus, students will be prompted to log in with their WUR account, after which they will have access.

How to use copyrighted material in a MOOC?

Because a MOOC is aimed at non-WUR students, the Easy Access agreement does not apply. A MOOC is freely available on the internet and can be followed by anyone. As such, teachers may not use copyrighted materials in a MOOC, unless the materials’ copyright owner has granted written permission. Instead of copyrighted materials, teachers can use free access and/or Open Access materials.

Free access materials

Some subscription-based journals make their articles freely available for anyone to use after one or two years. You may use this free access material, but only by providing a hyperlink to the material.

Open Access materials

Open Access materials are freely available on the internet, but this does not automatically allow sharing of the material. Open Access material comes in different forms, and sometimes the material has a Creative Commons licence. The form of Open Access or the kind of Creative Commons licence determines whether the material can be used in a MOOC.

Questions & support

Do you have questions about copyright, or would you like personal support? Feel free to contact us. You can send an email to the Copyright Information Point.