Copyright and publishing
Using copyright material in your publications
The University Library provides copyright support for the UWA community to help staff and students understand their copyright obligations and, in doing so, maximise the use of copyright material in the publications they produce.
The Library can assist with:
Advice regarding the use of copyright material for education and research
Assistance with locating copyright-compliant resources
Online support materials and FAQs
Copyright awareness and training workshops
For more information, or for assistance with a query, contact us.
Copyright and permissions
- Fair dealing provisions
- Copyright material log
- Obtaining permission
Protecting your copyright
In Australia, as soon as a work is produced in a material form (e.g. written down or filmed), it is automatically protected by copyright. You do not need to register your copyright, nor do you need to affix a copyright symbol (©), in order to benefit from copyright protection.
It is advisable, however, to include a copyright statement on your work to notify others of the copyright owner and to advise of any reuse conditions. There is no set wording for a copyright statement; it can be as simple as the copyright symbol (a lower case ‘c’ in a circle) followed by the copyright owner’s name and the year the work was produced – for example, © John Smith 2022, or © University of Western Australia 2022.
For more information on protecting your copyright, see the Australian Copyright Council Protecting Your Copyright fact sheet.
- Copyright ownership at UWA
- Include a full citation on your work
- Enable others to reuse your work with a Creative Commons licence
- Deposit your work in the UWA Profiles and Research Repository
Publishing agreements and the UWA Research Repository
Deciding where and how to publish is an important step in the research process. The University Library offers a regular program of workshops that provide guidance in relation to information and data discovery and management, copyright, publishing, and engagement with research outputs, including workshops on Open Access for Researchers, Authors Rights, and Where to Publish. More information is available in the Library Research Support Program guide.
The University supports the principle of Open Access by making publications freely available online within 12 months of publication through the UWA Research Repository. UWA authors are responsible for depositing copies of their publications in accordance with the UWA Research Integrity Policy.
More information on Open Access publishing options can be found in the Open Access Toolkit.
Publication agreements
Publishers will often request that you sign a publication agreement or contract in order to publish your research. Consider the following points before signing publication agreements.
- 1. Check the publisher's policy on self-archiving
- 2. Amend the publication agreement to deposit the final accepted manuscript version
- 3. Make the publication metadata available in the UWA Profiles and Research Repository
Related links
Information on this page has been adapted with permission from Macquarie University and the University of Tasmania Copyright Toolkit for Researchers (licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SA licence).
This information is provided as general information only and is not intended to be comprehensive.
Stay in touch
Contact us to receive help and support from our friendly, knowledgeable staff.