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Copyright Guide

This guide will help you to find out how copyright affects your study, research and work here at the University of Derby. Please note that information on these pages is for guidance only: it should not be construed as formal legal advice.

How does copyright affect my thesis?

  • When writing your thesis you will undoubtedly have used material that may be protected by copyright, in order to illustrate your points of discussion. This could be from books, journals, websites and archives, and may include text, charts, diagrams, paintings and photographs. Read section Examples of copyrighted materials for more information. 

 

  • Additionally, (prior to 1st October 2024) if you have included any of your own articles that have been published previously and transferred your copyright, or signed an exclusive licence to publish with the publisher then they might own the copyright, as a result of the contract that you signed. Even though you wrote the article, you will still need to ask permission in this case. You can also check the ROMeO database on the web (http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo) for the standard copyright terms and conditions of most publishers, or alternatively visit the journal’s own website for this information.

 

For material published more recently (1st October 2024)*: according to the University of Derby's revised 'Publication and Open Access policy' and many research funders' policies, there is a mandate requiring articles and other research outputs to be published Open Access unless there is a good reason not to; this means that the publishers would not own the copyright to your Author Accepted Manuscript, enabling this content to be openly licensed for free re-use under a Creative Commons-Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY 4.0) licence (unless a different licence is necessary). This means that both your own and others' work will increasingly be free to re-use (though you should always double-check this before re-using anything).

 

  • If your PhD has been externally funded you will need to check the grant conditions prior to having your thesis placed in UDORA. For instance, the funding body might own the data in your work or they might have specific conditions on publication. If you find these clash with the University of Derby policy on placing PhD theses in the online repository then seek advice. When the funding body owns the data in your thesis you need to request permission to place your thesis in the repository, for example, after a suitable embargo period.

 

  • You may wish to publish your thesis in the future without making changes to the content. Some publishers do not permit prior publication of any material they subsequently accept for publication in their own title. If you have a publisher in mind for your work, check their terms and conditions. You can contact the publisher directly, visit the journal’s webpage or check ROMeO for the publisher’s copyright policy (http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo). If you believe your chances of publishing are harmed by having your thesis on UDORA prior to commercial publication, discuss the situation with your supervisor and arrange a temporary embargo for your work. If you intend to publish your work after revising the thesis content then this may not be an issue with a publisher.

 

  • If you have named anyone in your thesis, whether on the 'Acknowledgements' page or as part of your research, you should ensure they are not identifiable, by redacting the names or using pseudonyms. You should also ensure that other incidental details relating to these people might not lead to unintended identification.

 

  • You must remove any personal details about yourself such as your personal email address, home address, telephone/mobile number and your student ID number. 

*Please read our comprehensive guide called Research Publication, Open Access and Rights Retention Policy for more information on Rights Retention. 

Can I legally use third-party material in my thesis?

'Criticism, Review and Quotation'

  • You are legally entitled to use limited amounts of copyrighted material for the purposes of discussion in your thesis.  This is called Criticism, Review and Quotation and is discussed in more detail in the menu on the left, see section: Fair Dealing and copying legally. Simply put copyright law understands that if you are critically discussing points of view and making an argument or case you will need to show evidence by including limited amounts of third-party material to make your points.
  • As long as the published extracts are no more than is required to make your points (fair-dealing) AND you have sufficiently acknowledged the source (including any links or other conditions of usage) then you will not need to obtain copyright permission.
  • Quotation - it is possible to use a limited amount of material purely for illustrative purposes without discussing it in the body of your text, however remember to use a limited amount and not too much from any one source.  
  • See menu on the left to look at the infographic: How can I copy third-party material legally? This easy guide goes through a lot of questions you might be considering.