Copyright when you teach

Agreement with Copydan Tekst og Node

DTU's copying agreement with Copydan Tekst og Node grants teachers and other DTU staff the right to copy and use excerpts from published text and sheet music materials. This applies to both printed and digital material from Danish and foreign publications. The agreement covers teaching use, as well as research and administrative use.. 

• Read the agreement between Copydan Tekst og Node and Danish Universities (pdf in Danish)

How much can I copy as a teacher?

• For each work, you can copy a maximum of 20%, up to 50 pages per student per semester.
• For journals, the percentage is calculated based on the total number of pages in the volume.
• Regardless of a publication's length, you can always copy or print 4 pages.

What falls under the term "copying"?

• Photocopying - from paper to paper
• Scan - from paper to digital file
• Print - from Internet and other digital media to print on paper
• Digital copying - from a digital format to another digital format. You may copy/paste, download, or otherwise digitally copy from digital media and files such as websites, e-books, CD-ROMs, and PDF files, including uploading material to learning platforms and intranets

What can I copy?

• All types of text publications, e.g., books, journals, and sheet music.
• Newspapers are covered by the agreement as of June 2022.
• Digital resources, e.g., digital books and articles that are legally and openly available on the internet.
• Both Danish and foreign publications.

Always remember to include a source reference, including: Title, author, publisher, and year of publication.

What can't I copy?

• You may not digitally copy e-articles, e-books, or other digital resources from databases or search catalogs. These materials must be accessed with a password, e.g., via DTU FindIt.

DTU has ensured that teachers and students at DTU can use copyright-protected images for teaching and study purposes legally.

Remember, you can always contact the individual rights holder about using a specific image if you need to use it outside DTU.

DTU has entered into an agreement with VISDA (formerly Copydan Billedkunst), which allows DTU's teachers and students to use copyright-protected images for teaching and study purposes. The VISDA agreement is continuously renewed and is therefore still valid (in Danish). 

What is allowed according to the agreement?

• Download and use images from open websites on the internet (i.e., images not behind a paywall)
• Scan and use images from printed materials such as books, journals, and magazines
• Use images for, e.g., smartboard or PowerPoint presentations
• Share images with other DTU teachers, researchers, and students via email or on DTU Learn
• Use images in PowerPoints outside DTU at institutions that have a similar agreement with Copydan VISDA, such as the University of Copenhagen, Aalborg University, or Aarhus University

What is not allowed according to the agreement?

• Use the images outside DTU at institutions, companies, etc., that do not have a similar agreement with Copydan VISDA
• Use the images for purposes other than teaching and assignments
• Make changes to the images
• Make the images available on open networks

Source attribution

Always remember to attribute images you use: 

As a minimum, you should indicate where the image is from, either a textual source or a URL. It is a good idea to specify which agreement or license (copyright information) grants the right to use the image.

An ideal citation includes a more detailed description with:

• The name of the photographer/artist,
• followed by the image's title, year, and the textual source or URL.
• Finally, the agreement or license (copyright information) should be included.

When you want to use electronic material from DTU Findit, which is published by a publisher, you should be aware that agreements with publishers can have usage conditions that vary greatly from journal to journal.  
DTU recommends that you check the possibilities and limitations in the publisher agreements for the material you want to use by contacting DTU Biblioteks licensteam.

You are typically allowed to:

• Print, download, or copy a single copy for personal use
• Cite/attribute sources
• Link to the journal's/book's website*
• Create deep links to an article or book chapter (e.g., for use in reading lists)*

*Recommended for teaching use

You are typically not allowed to:

• Email, copy, print, or otherwise distribute PDF files to other users
• Share files on open websites, i.e., no uploading of PDF files
• Share files on closed websites such as DTU Learn, even if they are password protected. Therefore, PDF files may not be uploaded for teaching use

Remember, you may always share 20%, but no more than 50 pages of a work with your students - even as a PDF. This is due to DTU's agreement with Copydan Tekst og Node.

Create deep links in your teaching materials!

DTU has entered into a copying agreement with Copydan Tekst og Node, which grants teachers and other DTU staff the right to copy and use excerpts from published text materials.

Why are links a good idea?

 

Statistics for DTU Library

The use of links provides a more accurate picture of usage when the DTU Library evaluates which materials should be purchased or repurchased. Copies shared and used in teaching cannot be included in the DTU Library's evaluation basis.

Copydan counts

Copydan only counts copied and scanned materials. Links to the original text are therefore excluded from the count. It is important to promote links instead of prints and PDFs. Deep links can be created for most articles and materials instead of placing PDFs in the file sharing section of the course group on DTU Inside (DTU Learn).

 

Use DTU Learn for your materials

Remember that you should always link to materials on DTU Learn, as digital copies may only be distributed via a password-protected intranet. It is not permitted to share digital copies via, for example, email or open online platforms.

DTU's policy on usage rights for teaching materials ensures that you can use materials from other DTU instructors in your teaching.

Effective from January 1, 2017, DTU implemented the policy for the use of teaching materials . The policy has been agreed upon between the Trade Unions and DTU's management, granting DTU the right to use teaching materials developed by an employee during their tenure at DTU. At the same time, the policy emphasizes that the instructor owns their material, not DTU.

Usage Rights

DTU's usage rights aim, among other things, to ensure that students do not end up in a situation where entirely new course materials need to be developed if an instructor leaves DTU in the middle of a semester. The usage right applies only for teaching purposes.

The usage right means that when teaching material is developed during an employee's tenure at DTU, DTU henceforth has the right to use the material for teaching, even after an instructor has left the university. Textbooks and articles are exempt from the policy.

Revision

The policy has been revised in April 2024. This has been done in collaboration between DTU, the negotiating parties, and UBVA (The Committee for the Protection of Scientific Work).