Tag: Publishers

Notes on accessing newspaper articles online

13 January 2022 / Erica Levi

Articles can generally be accessed on Locate when the library subscribes to the newspaper’s back issues.

Independent journalists write articles, but sometimes they aren’t available through subscriptions like the library’s. This may be due to the contract independent journalists have with that newspaper and the newspaper’s contract with that distribution platform.

Sometimes the newspaper makes the article available online for a while, but then has to take it down for contractual reasons.

It may be inconvenient, but that is how independent journalists earn a living and maintain their clout.

If the article is part of essential reading, you could try to seek permission from the journalist. Unfortunately, Coventry University doesn’t hold a Newspaper Licensing Agency (NLA) educational licence.

You may also try another avenue by asking a subject librarian if the article can be obtained through another licence, such as the CLA one.

Additionally, if a specific article previously openly available online is becoming fiddly to find, it is because it is in the process of being removed – search engines’ crawlers are still finding traces of it, but eventually, they will lose track – you might as well find an alternative resource to ensure longevity in the course (unless you obtain permission).

The author takes no responsibility for the content of this page, which is not intended as binding legal advice. The views are about copyright in the UK Higher Education sector context.

How do I find a legal version of an e-publication?

22 December 2021 / Erica Levi

Some authors often upload their published version on ReseachGate and academia.edu when transferring their copyright to the publisher.

ReseachGate and academia.edu are commercial platforms, and most publishers do not allow authors to upload articles on those platforms because the existence of a published PDF online will cause them to lose income. There have been instances of publishers suing universities and authors for copyright breaches.

We cannot provide hyperlinks to documents posted on those platforms because linking to illegally posted sources online is unlawful.

So, what are the options?

Check if the library has the publication. If it is a journal article, then if we subscribe, you can provide the DOI to the article (starting with http://dx.doi.org/…). If it is a book, you may provide the permalink from Locate.
Find the publication on an institutional repository: a) look at the afflation of the authors. If it is from the UK or Europe and it is a post-2014 publication, likely, a version is legally deposited in the affiliated institutional repository; b) search on the browser for the name of the affiliation (e.g. “Coventry University”) plus the word ‘repository’. It will give you the link to the institutional repository; c) search for the title or author, and you may find the record and PDF; d) share that link openly.

What about hyperlinks and copyright?

How do I link to e-published articles?

Why shouldn’t we link directly to PDFs?

How do I reference sources?

What about hyperlinks and copyright?

The author takes no responsibility for the content of this page, which is not intended as binding legal advice. The views are about copyright in the UK Higher Education sector context.

What is copyright on text base material?

14 December 2021 / Erica Levi

Unpublished text usually belongs to the author(s), unless there is a different agreement governing the activities of the creator(s).

You need to verify the terms of your contracts and agreements to verify who owns the material you produce during your association with the University.

For example, Coventry University’s staff and students’ work usually belong to the University. Therefore, claiming ownership of such material would constitute a breach of contractual agreement with your employer.

Do not assume that you or your colleagues own the copyright of the material they create because their employer could own it.

Another factor for consideration is that once a publisher, including a website, reproduces text, the copyright’s ownership may change. For example, a publisher usually owns the copyright of the published version, which might be a book or a journal article.

In some cases, publishers will only own the published version, and the author will retain the copyright to the text, but this is under specific conditions (like embargoes and location of the material).

How much text can I copy?

How do I reference sources?

The author takes no responsibility for the content of this page, which is not intended as binding legal advice. The views are about copyright in the UK Higher Education sector context.

Can I link to videos and films?

6 December 2021 / Erica Levi

We can broadly assume that material hosted on organisations’ official channels is legally available, and consequently, we can link and embed them. More care will be necessary when linking to private posts in copyright infringement. You must be cautious, especially where part of the footage is from blockbusters and stock collections.

Videos freely available on the internet may still be protected by copyright, and you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder before copying them. Not all material marked as free to use on the Internet is meant to be distributed freely: material might be incorrectly annotated, such as some posted on YouTube and Vimeo.

What about hyperlinks and copyright?

Can I make a transcript or a third party owned video?

Can I link to YouTube?

Can I use TED Talks?

Can I show clips or whole movies online?

Can I upload broadcasts and movie clips?

TThe author takes no responsibility for the content of this page, which is not intended as binding legal advice. The views are about copyright in the UK Higher Education sector context