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Student Copyright Guide

Licensed Electronic Resources

The University of Derby subscribes to a number of electronic resources such as databases, eBooks and eJournals to help you with your studies. As authorized users University of Derby staff and students can access them on-site and remotely under the licence terms drawn up by the supplier. Some eResources are available for Walk-in users providing they use the computer terminals in the libraries. 

A licence contract is legally binding and users of these resources must abide by the specific terms and conditions. If you have any concerns as to your usage please check the links to the licence on the publishers web site before using any eResources. 

Most licences stipulate a number of rules, such as:

  • you must never disclose your password(s) for electronic resources.
  • you should not share any material with unauthorised users (for example friends, colleagues who are not members of the University of Derby) by any means such as emails or other networks.
  • systematic downloads of data i.e. downloading all articles from a search, or all articles from a single journal is prohibited.
  • you may not alter, remove or adapt the copyright statement or any of the copyright material. 
  • you must respect the intellectual property rights of authors material. 
  • most eResources are for non-commercial use only, such as private study, teaching or research.
  • you can read, download and print copies of individual articles for your personal use - private study, research or teaching.
  • some licences allow uploading a document to the VLE, but please confirm this by checking the licence terms and conditions and/or contacting the library. 
  • some licences allow the inclusion of an article in electronic and/or print course packs, but you need to check to make sure beforehand.

If you are in any doubt as to your usage, please check with the library.