Copyright when you have administrative tasks

Ownership of what you produce as an administrative employee

All texts you produce as an administrative employee at DTU are subject to copyright. It can be unclear who holds the copyright to these written works, especially when DTU has a clear policy that researchers themselves own the articles they write.

As a starting point, most reports, notes, and texts you create as part of your job as an administrative employee belong to DTU. Legal literature and case law state that the employer obtains copyright to the parts of a work created by an administrative employee that are necessary for the employer’s “ordinary business” at the time when the employee creates the work, unless otherwise agreed.

For presentations and materials used in teaching, you can follow the agreement made with Akademikerne and implemented in DTU’s policy for the use of teaching materials.

Course on basic copyright

DTU Library, Legal and Tech Trans, and DTU Copyright Info offer courses on basic copyright and tips and tricks for administrative staff. These courses can be tailored and booked via ophavsret@dtu.dk or via DTU Library's calendar.

CHECKLIST FOR administrative EMPLOYEES

If you create presentations or such materials, the same rules and agreements generally apply as for teachers.
If you work with websites or communication accessible to people outside DTU, ensure that materials (images and texts, etc.) are cleared, either through a license/agreement via DTU or by obtaining permission from the rights holder.
DTU has several image databases you can use, including Skyfish, which you can read more about here.
Always remember to attribute images and texts you use, such as in presentations, reports, websites, and on DTU Inside.
Before uploading a presentation (e.g., a conference talk) to an open page, make sure the presenter has signed an agreement regarding the rights to the video production. This is important because DTU is responsible to the rights holder when the presentation is published on DTU’s pages.
You can find more information about video production and streaming on DTU’s guidance pages.