Copyright Guide for Students

Often, yes.

Students regularly use quotations, images, screenshots, extracts, and other third-party material in essays, presentations, posters, portfolios, and assessed work. In many cases, this is lawful because:

• you created the material yourself
• the material has a licence that allows reuse
• your use is covered by a copyright exception
• you are using only what is needed for a fair and lawful academic purpose

Using material in coursework is not the same as publishing it online. Something that may be acceptable in an assignment submitted to Abertay may not be acceptable on a public website, portfolio, YouTube channel, GitHub, itch.io, or social media account. If your work will be public, rely on your own material or on content with clear reuse permission wherever possible.

Always ask yourself:

• Do I really need this material?
• Am I using only what is necessary?
• Have I acknowledged the source properly?
• Would this still seem reasonable if my work were public?

For most students, the most relevant copyright exceptions are usually for:

• quotation, criticism, and review
• some uses connected with non-commercial research or private study

These exceptions depend on fair dealing. There is no fixed word count or page limit that makes something automatically fair. You need to make a reasonable judgement.

A good practical test is:

• Is the amount I am using reasonable in this context?
• Have I used no more than I need?
• Am I using it to support analysis, comment, or quotation rather than just copying it in?
• Have I credited the source? This usually means naming the author or creator and the source clearly, not just listing it in your references.

In general, fair dealing is more likely to apply where the use is limited, relevant to your academic purpose, and properly acknowledged. Risk is higher if you use large amounts, include material without analysis or comment, or rely on copied material in a way that replaces the original.

Citing a source is important, but citation alone does not automatically make reuse lawful. You still need your use to be fair or otherwise permitted.

Images, screenshots, sound, film clips, and other media are usually protected by copyright. The fact that something is easy to find online does not mean it is free to reuse.

For coursework, you may sometimes be able to use a small image, screenshot, clip, or extract where it is necessary for analysis, comment, criticism, or quotation and where your use is fair and acknowledged.

Take extra care with:

• photographs found through search engines
• music in videos or presentations
• film and TV clips
• artwork, illustrations, and game assets
• material taken from social media

If you need images for coursework, posters, or presentations, start with Finding and Using Images. That page points you to safer sources and explains how to check reuse terms and give credit.

If your assignment involves making a video, podcast, poster, or other media project, the risk increases if you include a lot of third-party material or if the final work will be shared publicly.

Abertay provides access to ebooks, journal articles, databases, scans, and other digital resources for your own study and learning.

In general:

• you can read, download, and use library content for your own academic work within the licence terms
• you should not repost PDFs, scans, articles, or book chapters on public websites or social media
• you should not upload copied course readings or library content to file-sharing platforms

If you want to direct someone to a reading, link to the Library resource or reading list where possible rather than posting a copy.

A useful rule is this: access for study does not mean permission to redistribute.

If you are unsure whether something is a copyright issue or a licence issue, ask Library Services.

AI tools can create copyright risks.

The main risk for most students is what you upload. As a general rule, do not upload journal articles, book chapters, textbook extracts, scanned readings, or other course materials into AI tools unless you are sure you have permission to do so.

Safer uses usually include:

• working with your own notes
• using your own draft writing, where your assignment guidance allows this
• asking general questions without uploading copyrighted text

You still need to follow your assignment brief, module guidance, and the terms of the tool you are using.

Not always.

If you are a postgraduate research student, you should also read Copyright for Research, especially if you are:

• writing a dissertation or thesis
• including third-party material in a thesis you will deposit
• preparing a conference paper, poster, or presentation
• publishing your work

The student page covers the basics. The research pages cover the more specific issues that arise in theses, deposit, publications, and presentations.