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By Claus Rosenkrantz Hansen and Mette Bechmann

When we talk about copyright in academic publishing, the focus is often on the written text. However, many research articles also contain non-textual elements – figures, tables, graphs, photos, or illustrations – which can be just as protected as the written word. 

Your own elements

If you have created the element yourself, you generally hold the copyright. This means you decide where and how it can be used. In practice, however, many researchers transfer the rights to the element through an author agreement to the journal or publisher when their work is published. It is therefore important to examine the author agreement carefully: Do you retain your rights, or do you grant an exclusive license to the publisher? Some journals allow reuse of figures in teaching or presentations, while others require separate permission. 

Elements created by others

If, in your own writing or dissemination, you wish to include material you did not create yourself – for example, a photo, a figure from another article, or an illustration from a book chapter – you need to make sure you have the right to use it. This may involve contacting the rights holder, purchasing a license, or using material under an open license such as Creative Commons. It is worth remembering that citing the source alone is not sufficient to bypass permission requirements. 

Visualizations built on others’ data

One particular point of attention is data visualizations and tables. While the underlying data may not be protected by copyright, the selection, structure, and graphic presentation of those data often are. This means you are free to work with the same data but may not copy another researcher’s specific presentation without permission. 

In short: Copyright in research publications is not just about words. It can be useful to reflect on how non-textual elements are used and shared – both those you create yourself and those you borrow from others. Reviewing your author agreements and considering your use of figures and images can help prevent problems. 

And if in doubt, Claus Rosenkrantz Hansen at CBS Library is a valuable resource for guidance. 

By Mette Bechmann 

Not sure what to make of academic freedom, copyright, and rights to research in a Danish context?  

Despite its rather old-fashioned name, this website offers a wealth of valuable resources and insights on various legal and ethical aspects related to research. All content is available in both Danish and English, which makes it useful for both Danish-speakers and non-Danish speakers working at CBS.

Who is behind the site?

The site is maintained by the Committee for Protection of Scientific Work (UBVA), a committee under Akademikerne, the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations.

When you plan a research collaboration, either within or outside academia, with government agencies, companies etc., there are many issues to consider. The researcher portal suggests a checklist for these situations. It also addresses potential pitfalls concerning publishing your results, responsible conduct of research, and management of research data.

Explore the Researcher Portal 

Written by Mette Bechmann

Library professionals like us take quite an active interest in issues related to copyright and are frequent attendees at online events hosted by the Committee for The Protection of Scientific and Scholarly Work (UBVA).

However, these events are not just targeting people working in libraries. With topics such as “who owns the copyright to contents created during employment? You or your employer?”, they are also highly relevant for faculty.

If you want to know more about the UBVA seminars, please visit the UBVA website.

All courses are in Danish only

Written by Mette Bechmann

Next year, Copydan, the Danish copyright authority, will swing by CBS to assess the amount of copyrighted material made available to students by course coordinators on Canvas and in print compendia.

CBS´ agreement with Copydan dates back many years. Under the terms of the agreement, CBS is permitted to use a specified amount of copyrighted contents for educational purposes.
The purpose of the coming count is not to uncover irregularities but to establish how much-copyrighted contents are in fact used at CBS. The count will inform future negotiations about how much CBS will have to pay for a similar agreement in the coming years.

The count will include 50 randomly selected courses in the spring and an equal number of courses in the fall. If your course is among the ones selected, you will of course receive more information directly.

Please reach out to Mette Bechmann or Erik Sonne in case you have any questions

Written by Joshua Kragh Bruhn

A pilot of a what will be a mandatory online course in academic integrity for all new students to CBS was launched in Canvas earlier this week.

The purpose of the course is to ensure a basic and shared understanding in all CBS students, regardless of specialization, of key academic integrity issues and not least of how to avoid them to begin with.

The course is a collaboration between the Dean´s office, the student administration, the legal team, Teaching & Learning, and the library, and it discusses, through videos and prose, some of the main issues confronting students when they embark on their new life in academia, amongst these plagiarism and self-plagiarism.

In this very first iteration, students are invited to engage with the course on a voluntary basis, as at this stage we are mostly curious to find out what students think about the contents, the setup, etc.

New guide available
As part of the initiative, a brand new guide on how to work with integrity as a CBS student has been released to give more seasoned students a chance to brush up on their academic integrity skills as well. This guide is far more comprehensive than the course and includes, apart from plagiarism in its various manifestations, contributions on copyright and GDPR, bias in research, falsification and fabrication of data, and much more. 

We hope that this guide will help relevant stakeholders at CBS align their understanding of the issues in order that the message conveyed to students is always correct and consistent.

As lecturers, you can use the guide as a point of reference for students who are struggling with basic academic skills, as a chance to brush up on CBS guidelines and regulations, and as a segway to classroom discussions about what is required to perform with integrity, at CBS and in academia generally. 

If you have any questions, please reach out to Joshua Kragh Bruhn

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By Joshua Kragh Bruhn and Lotte Risbæk Thomsen

In fall 2017, CBS Library conducted a survey to gauge CBS students´ understanding of and attitudes towards plagiarism. 755 students completed the survey and the results were interesting if not exactly surprising.

The main findings were:

• CBS students´ grasp of plagiarism is overwhelmingly conservative and mainly focuses on the appropriation of other people´ ideas and words without proper referencing.
• One third of respondents feel either explicitly insecure about their understanding of plagiarism or have no idea what to make of their understanding. 
• The primary source of information on the topic of plagiarism are professors and supervisors, closely followed by fellow students and CBS Library staff.
• Passing other people´s thoughts and ideas off as your own are viewed as a more serious offense than simply copying words and phrases.
• Self-plagiarism is not a concept that resonates to any great extent with students. Thus, 60 % of respondents do not consider the re-submission of previously assessed contents for a second exam in any way problematic. 
• A not entirely insignificant number of respondents do not consider the submission of borrowed or purchased contents for assessment a cause for scandal.
• 20 % of respondents were at some point tempted to plagiarise. Of these 19 % did in fact go ahead and knowingly plagiarised whereas a staggering 36 % have no clue if they plagiarised or not.
• 45 % of respondents know of somebody else who plagiarised.
• The main reasons for plagiarism are: time constraints, convenience, desperation, misunderstanding
• An as of yet non-existing brush-up course on principles of ethical referencing for plagiarism offenders are seen by respondents as a relevant service

Read the full report (currently in Danish only)
For more information, please contact Joshua Kragh Bruhn or Lotte Risbæk Thomsen

*Image Copyrigth:http://mimiandeunice.com/2010/07/30/thief/

One result of the growth of the internet is the easy and convenient access to journal articles, books, pictures, and music. However, copyright laws typically protect works of this kind and restrictions in the ways they may be used apply.

Copyright law is a set of rules that protects originators (e.g. authors) from duplication or unauthorized publication of their works. As such, the law ensures that authors and other copyright holders receive compensation for their works.

The copyright issues pertaining to the use of different types of materials are not entirely straightforward. To help clarify existing rules and address practical implementation CBS Library has created a guide (LibGuide) to copyright.

In addition to a summary of and an introduction to copyright, the guide seeks to provide a compass to your options and rights, whether you are a lecturer, a researcher or a student.

The guide also comprises a presentation of copyright implications of Open Access and Creative Commons. A Creative Commons licence, for instance, is a way to signal how your work may be used, e.g. shared, adapted or developed, by others, regardless of copyright.

The purpose of the LibGuide is not necessarily to provide the final truth but to ensure that you can move on in a meaningful way via the links and references to relevant authorities, organizations, literature etc. provided.

For more information please contact Erik Sonne

It’s easy to find picture on the internet, but often it is illegal to use the ones you find. Here are a few tips on where to find pictures and use them without violating copyrights.

CBS has an agreement with Copydan Billedkunst that allows you to use pictures from the internet and other sources as long as they are part of material used internally in teaching at CBS.

If you use your presentation outside CBS, or want to publish it on the Internet, you may want to look for pictures that are published under Creative Commons licenses.

CBS library recommends Pixabay, a free image site containing images licensed under Public Domain. This means that you may use and even edit the images without asking permission.

Flickr is another great place to find free images. Here you must be aware of the CC license the image is available under. The licenses determine whether you can make changes to a picture or use it commercially. Always remember to credit the creator.

You can of course avoid this bother by paying for your pictures. There are many great image sites including sites like Shutterstock and Colourbox, where you can subscribe or purchase from time to time.

Further questions? Please contact Camilla Boelsgaard Lund.

Finding out exactly how to make teaching materials available to students without infringing copyright agreements and licensing conditions can be a nightmare.

Most teaching materials are available in digital form, a fact that makes it very difficult to resist the temptation to publish on CBS Learn. Sometimes this is also the case with print materials that can be easily digitized.
However, even if this is a very expedient solution for both student and lecturer, in many cases it is against the law. The only safe way to make something available online is through a link.
You can create links to materials available free of charge on the internet as well as to materials available in subscription databases.
If you wish to link to an article available from a subscription database you can create a shortcut, a so-called permanent or secure link.

This will help your students get easy, both on- and off-campus, access to the full text document without infringing any copyright laws or agreements.

Manual

Please feel free to ask the library if you are having difficulties creating permalinks.

If an article or book chapter is not available digitally, you are permitted, with certain restrictions, to digitize it yourself and upload it to CBS Learn. 
You can find more information about digitization and linking on CBSshare

CopyDan, the Danish rights holders´ association, has reached a new agreement with the Danish universities that makes copying and distributing copyrighted materials to students somewhat easier for lecturers. For instance, the new agreement stipulates that you may now copy and disseminate, whether digitally or in print and regardless of publication year, 20 % of a book or a journal volume, as long as the total number of pages does not exceed 50.

More information as well as the agreement itself is available from LibGuide – Ophavsret (in Danish only)

Please note, however, that the CopyDan agreement only applies to documents that are NOT available through the CBS library subscription databases. If you wish to leave a reading list for your students on CBS LEARN and the documents on that list are indeed available from a CBS Library database, you need to either create a database link to the full text document or simply provide a reference.

If you opt for the link version, please make sure that all links allow for smooth off-campus access. Check out CBSshare for a guide on how to do this, or contact Mette Bechmann directly.