Copyright in the Scope of Education

Abstract

Copyright is a legal term used to describe the rights that creators have over their works. Copyright grants the author a set of exclusive rights of protecting his personality in connection with his work (moral rights) and of exploiting the work (economic rights). In the context of education, copyright is important as copyrighted works used in course materials or lecturing, are often and common. When reproducing or distributing materials such as literature, publications, videos or music, lecturers need to understand the copyright of any material that is used. With this paper, we shall present the scope of copyright and its exceptions for the purpose of education. First, we shall explain the meaning and exceptions of copyright within the international legal framework agreed by the Bern Convention that set the standard of copyright and its exceptions. Further, we shall explain exceptions that affect teaching-related uses of copyrighted work and describe how respective issue is regulated within the legislature of the European Union.