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Information on copyright as it applies to recorded lectures. If you need further advice please contact copyright@ucl.ac.uk.
A lecture capture is a recording of a face-to-face lecture. Lecture recordings can be edited, stored and made available to an audience for viewing after the end of the class.听
Lecturecast is a听tool supporting the recording, processing and online viewing of lectures that are usually delivered face-to-face in selected 果冻影院 teaching spaces. Lecture recordings can be linked to a Moodle course, but it is also possible to make them available to staff and students through other channels. In some cases, recorded lectures may also be available to external audiences.
The 果冻影院 Lecturecast Policy听defines responsibilities for managing the default opt-in Lecturecast process and听any opt-out policies. It also defines the retention requirements听for Lecturecast content. Further support can be found on the .
Recorded lectures: copyright considerations听
- What rights apply to a recorded lecture?
There are four distinct issues:
- Underlying Materials.听These are the lecture notes, scripts, slides, hand-outs, video clips etc. used in a lecture. These include materials created by the person who put together and delivered the lecture and may also include materials created by others ('third-party materials'), for example听quotations, images or extracts from films. These materials are usually protected by copyright.
- Performers鈥� Rights. To the extent that a lecture constitutes a performance, the individual that delivers the lecture has . These rights include control over whether their performance is recorded, whether it can be copied and whether it can be made available to the public. Unless the owner of performers' rights has given permission, these actions are infringing. However, a performance may be recorded without permission .
- Video Recording. Aside from the rights in the underlying materials, there are separate rights in the video recording itself.
- Moral rights.听Authors of copyright material and performers have certain 鈥渕oral rights鈥�, including to be identified as the author or performer and to object to derogatory treatment (alterations that are prejudicial to the author/performer) of their work. Legally, the right to be identified as the author or performer only needs to be complied with if asserted by the author or performer although it is good practice to acknowledge authors and performers. 听
- Who owns the rights to a recorded lecture and how does this apply to 果冻影院 staff and external speakers?听
In line with the :
- The first owner of copyright to underlying materials (e.g. text and images used)听is the author of those materials, unless these were created by an employee int he course of employment, in which case the employer is the first owner of copyright. However, in the case of scholarly and teaching materials, 果冻影院 normally waives these rights in favour听of its staff (果冻影院 IP policy, 2.1.2-2.1.3). 果冻影院 still retains a licence to reuse these materials for specific听purposes (果冻影院 IP policy, 2.3). In the case of external speakers, a written agreement specifies the licence terms under which 果冻影院 may reproduce the materials in the recorded lecture.
- The first owner of performers' rights is normally the performer. This means that consent from the performer is necessary for recording a lecture and for copying and sharing the recording. In line with the听果冻影院 Lecturecast Policy,听Lecturecast is 'by default,听an opt-in service with the onus on individual lecturers or teaching leads in departments/divisions to choose to use the system'.
- If a lecture has been recorded - in line with 果冻影院's opt-in policy - and the recording听itself is produced听by an employee or employees of 果冻影院, the licence set out in the 果冻影院 IP policy听(2.3) will apply to the recording. This would enable 果冻影院 to reproduce and share the the recording.听If non-果冻影院 employees are involved in producing the recording, a licence will be necessary听to reproduce and use the video. This could apply to contractors and/or external speakers.
- Third party materials included in a lecture will normally belong to their author, the author's employer or a publisher. Permission to reuse them is normally necessary, unless they are licensed for reuse (e.g. with a Creative Commons licence)听or a copyright exception/fair dealing applies. External lecturers are asked to confirm that they have managed any听third party copyright materials as part of their agreement with 果冻影院.
- Is there a standard form for external speakers to sign?
If your department is organising a lecture by an external speaker, please use the 果冻影院 External Lecturer Consent Form.听The form is used to gather permission to record the speaker's听lecture and permission to re-use their copyright material. The completed forms should retained by the 果冻影院 department which has organised the event as evidence听that we have the relevant permissions.
You may also want to share the relevant guidance addressing questions that often arise regarding the form.听
- What if a听lecture contains images and other materials created by others?
Getting permission
If a lecture includes text, images, video, music or any other materials for which the lecturer does not own the copyright, permission from the copyright owner is normally required.听The copyright owner and the source of any third party material must also be properly acknowledged.
Relying on copyright exceptions
When delivering a lecture, it may also be possible to use third party materials by relying on a as defined in UK copyright law.听The most relevant is the exception in , covering the use of material for 鈥渋llustration for the purpose of instruction鈥�. The exception in , covering 'quotation, criticism and听review' may also be relevant. Both听exceptions are subject to the "". "Fair Dealing" does not have a statutory definition but is generally taken to mean dealing with a copyright work in a fair-minded and honest way.听Important questions to consider are: (a)听Could the economic interests (or other interests) of the copyright owner be damaged by our use of the work? Is it a substitute for purchase, for example, or will we be competing with the original work? (b)听Are we using a greater proportion of the work than is reasonable and appropriate in the circumstances?.听It is also vital to credit the author and source of any work which you use. Whether using the material is covered by an exception and whether it is 'fair dealing' is a matter of judgement and very much depends on the context.
The decision to record the lecture and to store the recording for re-use in different contexts may change our assessment of 'fair dealing'. Generally speaking, the exceptions which justified the inclusion of third party material in the live lecture may be听less likely to apply in the context of recording a lecture incorporating that material which will then be stored and re-used in different contexts.听Best practice is that any third party materials should not be recorded or included听in the recording unless permission is obtained.
Using open materials
An alternative approach is to use only materials which are licensed for re-use, such as those shared under听a Creative Commons (CC) licence. Please see further information on CC licences.
Please contact 肠辞辫测谤颈驳丑迟蔼耻肠濒.补肠.耻办听for further advice on using third party materials.
- What about data protection?听
If the recording contains footage of individuals, data protection issues may arise. Images of an individual (whether a video or still) may be classed a personal data if the individual can be identified from that image alone or in conjunction with other data. In that case we will need to ensure compliance with the provisions of the . Please see the guidance note on data protection and Lecturecast.
- Where can I find more information on recorded lectures and copyright?
The 听addresses copyright, data protection and other legal issues by discussing common scenarios.
