Copyright for print disabled persons

Swinburne University pays a licence fee which allows Swinburne staff to copy and communicate the whole of a literary work (e.g. books, journal articles etc) or dramatic work (e.g. plays) and to make "master copies" to assist persons with a “print disability”. The provision to copy literary or dramatic works to assist print disabled persons is in addition to the provisions for copying text, images, TV and radio, and music for educational purposes.

Notice and marking requirements when copying and communicating works to assist persons with a print disability are discussed below.

Making master copies
Marking and notice requirements when making master copies
Making copies for print disabled persons

What is a print disability?

A person is said to have a print disability if they:

are without sight or severely sight impaired
are unable to hold or manipulate printed material, or focus or move their eyes
have a perceptual or other disability which limits their ability to follow a line of print or which affects their concentration.

Accessible versions

Reproductions of literary or dramatic works can be

Braille or “raised line”
Large print
Photographic
Sound recording

The reproductions can be made in hardcopy or electronic formats.

Making Master copies

An initial copy of a literary or dramatic work can be created and kept as a master copy. Accessible versions of the work can then be created from the master copy to assist print disabled persons.

There is no need for staff to check if there is a commercially available copy of the work when making a master copy. However, staff must check for a commercially available version of the work in the required format (i.e. Braille, large print) before providing a copy of a literary or dramatic work to a person with a print disability.

Making different versions of master copies

Staff can also make master copies from other master copies. This is useful if you need two or more different versions of the same work (e.g. Braille & Large Print).

Master copies at other institutions

University staff can make copies of master copies and send them to other print disability organisations such as other universities. Likewise, Swinburne can request master copies from other organisations.

If an organisation has not been declared a print disabled organisation then they will not be able to receive a copy of a literary or dramatic work as a master copy. Non print disabled organisations may request an accessible version of a literary or dramatic work on behalf of an individual.

CAL has created a master copy catalogue which can be used to locate master copies available at other institutions. (Registration is required). The catalogue can help staff locate versions of works already available and reduce the cost of making another one. Please note there is no requirement to check the catalogue before making a master copy.

Marking and notice requirements when making master copies

Hardcopy master copies

Master copies which are in hardcopy format must be marked with the following notice

This copy of [Title of work] was created on [date created] by or on behalf of Swinburne University of Technology in accordance with section 135ZQ of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth).

Electronic master copies

There are no requirements to mark master copies made in electronic format. However it's good record keeping practice to do so.

Master copies made as sound recordings

Literary or dramatic works embodied in an analog (e.g. taped) sound recording such as an audio book, must have either of the following messages recorded immediately before the work

This is a sound recording made on [ day on which the recording was made ] in reliance on section 135ZQ of the Copyright Act 1968

This is a sound recording made on [ day on which the recording was made ] in reliance on section 135ZQ of the Copyright Act 1968 , solely for use in the making of a reproduction or communication under section 135ZP of that Act for a person with a print disability.

Notices required to be sent to CAL

The university must notify CAL in writing within 3 months of creating a master copy with the following details about the copy

Details of the work copied [ Title, Author, Publisher, ISSN or ISBN (if applicable)]
Name of the Institution [ Swinburne University Of Technology]
Date on which the copy was made

This information is then added to the CAL 's catalogue of master copies.

Making copies for print disabled persons

Staff must check for a commercially available version of the work in the required format before providing a copy of a literary or dramatic work to a person with a print disability. The Library provides services for staff or students who have a disability and can help determine the availability of certain items.

Publisher arrangements

Some publishers upon request will provide different versions of their publications for the exclusive use of print disabled persons. If you arrange with a publisher to use their version you must abide by their terms and conditions of use.

Swinburne's adaptive equipment may not be compatible with some publisher's version of a work and this should be kept in mind when negotiating with publishers.

Access to copies

Access to copies of a whole work made under the print disability provisions must be restricted to persons with a print disability. If the copy of the work is in an electronic format it can be communicated to the person via a secure method such as email or password authentication to a restricted server.

Marking and notice requirements when making copies for print disabled persons

Creating a hardcopy of literary or dramatic works to assist print disabled persons

Under the University's licence agreement with CAL there is no prescribed notice.

Communication of literary or dramatic works to assist print disabled persons

An electronic warning notice must be supplied with the communication of the work (e.g. in the email in which the work is attached).

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