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 AU Library Teachers Copyright Quick Guide

Find the relevant rules for sharing books and articles

You have found an article or a book that you would like your students to read, and you now want to know how you may share it with them legally. Use this checklist to quickly find the relevant rules and agreements:

1 - Search for the material on library.au.dk

If the library has online access, please go to step 2. If not, go to step 3.  

2 - The library has online access

  1. Check whether you are permitted to upload the article or e-book chapter to Brightspace - see E-resources that allow upload to Brightspace.
    If uploading is not permitted, go to step 2.2.
  2. Give your students a link to the material - see how to make sure that the link also works outside Campus.

3 - The library does not have online access to the material:

  1. Scan material and upload it to Brightspace - NB you are permitted to scan up to 20% of an item with, however, a maximum of 50 pages in total.
  2. Copy material and hand it out to your students - NB you are permitted to copy up to 20% of an item with, however, a maximum of 50 pages in total.
  3. Please contact your local library in AU Library and ask them to place the material on the semester shelf so that the students can copy from it.

FAQ about copyright and copying

Q: Can I upload the PowerPoint slides from my teaching to Brightspace?
A: Yes, but you should be aware that the standard copyright rules also apply to PowerPoint presentations. 

Q: I have an article that I would like to upload to Brightspace, but I just can’t remember where it's from. What should I do?
A: You should not upload articles, or similar materials, for which you do not know the source. AU Library can help you to determine if you may upload the article.

Q: If I am the sole author of an article or a similar material, I assume that I am allowed to share this material on Brightspace or make photocopies to my students at my own discretion?
A: Normally, yes, as you hold the copyright to the work. Please be aware, however, that you may have transferred some of your rights to, for example, a publisher in connection with publication. Therefore, it is by no means certain that you may make unlimited copies of your work. You will usually be able to find information on how you may use your own articles on your publisher’s website.

Q: Should I report everything I copy and scan according to the Copydan agreements?
A: No, it is not a requirement that you report to Copydan. But it is still a good idea to save information on how much you copy and scan, as inspections can take place. The information Copydan need is:

  • Source reference: Title, author, publisher, ISBN or ISSN, and page numbers.
  • Number of students who have received the material. 

Q: I have received a scanned copy of a printed article from The Royal Danish Library's article service. Am I allowed to upload it to Brightspace?  
A: Yes, you are, if the article is no more than 50 pages. 

Q: I am preparing a take-home assignment for my students. The assignment with attachments is uploaded to the digital exam system from where the students can download the material themselves. One of the attachments is an electronic copy of a Danish newspaper article. Is that okay?

A: If you have scanned the article from a printed newspaper or downloaded a freely available version from the internet, you are permitted to upload the article to the digital exam system.

If you have downloaded the article from a database – for instance Infomedia – you are only allowed to share it digitally if the publisher allows such use. Read more about use of material from the internet.

Revised 12.04.2024