A guide to digital images, copyright and College slide collections

This page is intended as a broad guide to the use of digital images under current copyright licences, for Goldsmiths College staff and students.

All use of copyright materials must be in accordance with the College's Copyright Licences, and the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 and subsequent amending legislation, including the EU Copyright Directive 2001/29/EC, implemented in the UK in 2003, see College Regulation 16. Further advice is available from the Library and from the Reprographic Unit (on course packs).

Copying and scanning images for individual's study or research

• Individual staff and students may make a single copy, or scan, an extract from most published works for their own private study or research, under 'fair dealing' exemptions, for non-commercial purposes. 'Artistic Works' (images) are included in this arrangement.
• Slides in the Slide Library may not be copied or scanned because the library makes them under the terms of the DACS Slide Collection Licence, which specifically does not allow them to be copied in any way.
• Slides in the Women's Art Library/Make collection, however, may be copied or scanned under 'fair dealing' arrangements, as they were donated to the Women Artists' Slide Library for educational use. Copyright remains with the artist.
• Existing digital images from the web are covered by 'fair dealing', but in addition any copyright conditions on web sites should be adhered to.

Scanning images for course packs, a VLE or teaching

• Scanned images may be distributed to students registered on a course of study only in the college VLE, under the terms of the CLA licence. See Using the scanning licence to request copies for this purpose.
• Scanned copies cannot be placed into general stock or accessed via a library's general catalogue. Nor may scanned copies be communicated to the general public e.g. on an open website.
• Digital images from the web are not covered by existing licences, and any copyright conditions on web sites should be adhered to.
• Images in newspapers (photographs, illustrations and advertisements) may not be copied or scanned under existing licences. Newspapers are covered by the Newspaper Licencing Agency (NLA) licence which excludes images, the publishers should always be contacted for permission to reproduce images from these sources.
• Multiple copying (print) of copyright material must be done in accordance with College advice on copying copyright material. The Reprographic Unit provide a clearance and advice service for Course Packs, and information can be found near all photocopiers in College.

The DACS Slide Collection Licence and digitisation

• The licence allows the reproduction of artistic works onto slides, which can be held in the slide library.
• The licence does not allow the digitisation of slides, so borrowers must not scan any of the slides from this collection, whether for personal study or research, or for teaching. Also the Library cannot digitise the slides in order to build up a digital collection of images.
• Current copyright legislation does not allow the library to make digital images to hold in a collection. However, the Higher Education Licence described above does allow the making of digital image collections for specific courses, to be delivered via the VLE.