Copyright for researchers

Copyright is the legal term describing what rights authors/creators of certain categories of work are given.

The owner of copyright is the creator of the work. With a book, the owner of the copyright is the author, with a picture, it is the photographer. Copyright is "automatic right" that exist from the the moment of the creation of the work which then exists in the physical expression of the work” (IPOI, no date).

Copyright, however, is a form of property and the owner of said property can be transferred from one owner to another. An example could be the right being transferred from the author to the publisher. 

Copyright owners have the right to approve or disapprove of others using their work whether the work is being copied, performed, broadcast, made into a podcast, etc. Researchers that infringe these rights can suffer financial or reputational damage. Researchers cannot cite lack of awareness of the law as defence for the unlawful use of copyrighted material. 

Some of the examples of when it’s important to understand copyright include: 

• When you are using other people’s creative work (and data) protected by copyright.
• When you create your own works (and underlying data) that qualify for protection and need to understand what protection your work is awarded.
• When you work collaboratively with colleagues either at Dublin Business School or other organisations.
• When you are asked to sign contracts or licence agreements by organisations funding your research.
• When you are publishing some publishers may require you sign to over the copyright to them. These are often referred to as transfer agreements.