Copyright

What is Copyright?

Copyright is the exclusive right to a creative work. Most materials, including images, photographs, books, plays, journal and newspaper articles, artistic works, films, music, computer software are protected by copyright law. This means that the person who created the work holds the right to decide whether, and how, the work may be copied and distributed. In order for something to be considered a 'work' according the law, it must be sufficiently original. Copyright arises automatically when the work is created and lasts for 70 years after the author's death.

The two parts of copyright 

Copyright consists of two parts, the moral rights and the economic rights. The moral rights mean that the author has the right to be named when the work is used and distributed. The moral rights can never be transferred, but can be waived. 

The economic rights to a work gives the author the right to authorize or prohibit all forms of copying or distribution of the work. The economic right can be transferred. This is usually done by means of licenses. 

Copyrighted material 

Generally, you must always ask permission to use copyrighted material. Sometimes it can be difficult to know who owns the copyright to for example an image. For images in scientific journals, the publisher may own the economic rights, while the photographer may hold the moral rights. If you are unsure, contact both the publisher and the author with an inquiry. When contacting the author to ask for permission, inform them of the context in which the image will be used, and by whom. Keep your email correspondence as proof. As with any other use of material, you must always acknowledge the source with correct referencing.

Exceptions to copyright law for students and teachers

If you are a student or teacher at a university or college in Sweden, certain exceptions to copyright may apply, according to the Bonus Copyright Access Agreement. The Bonus Copyright Access Agreement allows students to copy, share and save copyrighted material digitally and analogue form for educational purposes. Nevertheless, you must still declare what source you have used and reference it correctly . 

As a student/teacher at KI you are allowed to (for example):

• download
• take photos of
• scan
• print
• copy on a photocopier/copying machine (limited number of pages)
• hand out hard copies
• store copied, copyrighted material, digitally, for example on the institution's closed network, on USB, etc.
• share material on the university's closed network, via email, etc.
• embed in digital presentations
• project and display on screen.

Creative Commons-licensed material

An author can grant certain exceptions to copyright by placing a Creative Commons license on their work. There are six CC licenses; each with different conditions. If you want to use material marked with a CC license, you should find out what rights the license gives you. Remember that you must always acknowledge the source, even if the work has a CC license! You should include the name and link to the work, the name of the author, the link to their username and the license. You will also want to list the specific license itself.

Example of how you can write a reference to a CC-licensed work using APA 7

Examples of how you can write a reference to a CC-licensed work using Vancouver

AI-generated material

For copyright to be applicable, the creator of the work must be human or a natural, legal person. This means that AI-generated material, such as texts or images, generally is not subject to copyright. However, there may be restrictions on how the specific AI-generated material can be used. You can find out by reading the terms of use that apply to the specific AI tool you want to use.

AI tools are trained on large amounts of data. There have been cases where the data used to train an AI model is believed to have been copyrighted and the rights violated. You should be careful about what data you yourself put into AI tools and how it might be used for further training of models. Some tools allow you to decide whether the data you enter can be used further or not. You can find out more by reading the terms of use of the AI tool.

Cheating and plagiarism

Make sure you ascertain if and how you are allowed to use generative AI for each specific assignment. You should also establish whether the use of generative AI should be reported in any way and if so, how. Some journals require authors to be transparent about their use of AI tools. This can be done either in the methodology section of scientific articles, or in a so-called “AI disclosure”. If you are unsure, you should talk to the examining teacher or the editor of the journal to determine the appropriate course of action. For doctoral students, there are recommendations on the use of AI tools in writing the thesis. 

Example on how to reference a work created using generative AI according to APA 7
Example on how to reference a work created using generative AI according to Vancouver

You yourself are always responsible for the end product you create, whether you have used generative AI or not. It is therefore important that you make sure that all information is accurate and that you have sources to back up your claims and maintain high standards of academic integrity. 

Tips on how to use generative AI: 

• As a sounding board or debate partner: Generative AI chatbots can provide quick feedback - but they are not always accurate! 
• Avoiding writer's block: While copying and pasting text from generative AI into your work is inappropriate in most contexts, it can be very useful for creating starter sentences or a structure for your work. 
• As a language coach: Generative AI tools can help to pedagogically correct language or even act as a conversation partner when learning another language.