What is the intellectual property rights of academic staff?

Traditionally the university teacher, and not the university, owns the copyright to teaching or research material. Consequently the university normally may not use the teacher’s copyright-protected material without permission.

Are there any differences between teachers and researchers?

No there is no difference. Copyright, and the intellectual property rights of academic staff, apply to both teachers and researchers in the same way.

Doesn’t the intellectual property rights of academic staff only apply to inventions?

There is an intellectual property rights of academic staff stated in the u003cemu003eRight to Inventions by Employees Actu003c/emu003e. However there is also such an exception within copyright. This follows a tradition that has been observed for a very long period of time and is described in several government reports.

Are lectures protected by copyright?

Yes. If something is to be protected by copyright it must contain a certain amount of independence and originality, what is termed its level of originality. However, requirements concerning independence and originality are not strict and, in practice, most material that is lectured, written, drawn or created in any other way is protected by copyright. There may be exceptions, see the question If the teacher is paid to work extra hours to create this course material, does this affect copyright?

If the teacher is paid to work extra hours to create this course material, does this affect copyright?

Yes, in this situation a department, or the equivalent at a university, may have acquired a certain right of use to the teaching material. This applies only, however, if there is an agreement between the teacher and university that the extra fee is payment so that the university will be entitled to use the material. This must always be assessed in each individual case.

Are teachers forced to put up their PowerPoint presentations on the course webpage?

As copyright owner, teachers make their own decisions as to whether presentations or other material is put up on the course webpage. It is necessary that the university has gained the permission of the teacher to store the teaching material digitally. Consequently the university may not transfer digital material in any other manner to the students, for example by e-mail. The teacher’s permission is necessary to do this.

Is the university entitled to rights concerning recorded lectures? Who determines whether a recorded lecture is to be put up on the course webpage?

According to the intellectual property rights of academic staff, copyright of lectures belongs to the teacher, and the university must obtain the teacher’s permission to put recorded lectures up on the course webpage.

Is there any difference to copyright if the teaching material is printed on paper or only exists in digital form?

No. Copyright applies irrespective of the technology used to store the material. Consequently it makes no difference whether the material is on paper or in digital form only – the same preconditions for protection apply. Today material in digital form can be found everywhere, for example on Internet, course websites etc.

Is the university entitled to change, update or otherwise manipulate the teaching material?

Changes, updates, reworking (or similar) of teaching material is only permitted if the owner of the copyright, the teacher, grants approval. If the university is entitled to use the material for teaching, this does not mean that the university is allowed to make changes to it – the teacher must also be contacted in this case. If there is no permission in place then altering the material is an infringement of the teacher’s copyright.

May students record lectures and put them out on, for example, Youtube or Facebook?

Students may, according to the private copying regulations in the Copyright Act, record teaching. No permission from the teacher is required. However the right to copy for private use may be limited if the teacher, as a condition of participation in the lecture, states that no recordings may be made. The university may also apply a local recording ban via local regulations. Students may not then give their recordings to their fellow students or put them up on websites such as Youtube or Facebook. This is the illegal use of the teacher’s copyright-protected lecture and is an infringement of the teacher’s copyright.

Does a teacher have to hand over a copy of his/her course material to another teacher when he/she is no longer teaching the course or leaves the university?

The copyright owner, the teacher, determines whether the teaching material is to be copied and who is to receive the copies. However teaching material is normally registered as an official document which means that other teachers or students may request a copy of the course material in accordance with the principal of public access to official documents.

I will be taking a leave of absence for a few months. Do I have to hand over my material to my substitute?

The copyright owner, the teacher, makes all decisions concerning his/her own copyright-protected material. You may hand it over if you wish to but you cannot be compelled to hand over your copyright-protected material to someone else

I am going to be a guest lecturer on a course. Do I have to put up my course material online?

It is entirely up to you whether you wish to put up your material online. If the university wishes to put the course material online then they must have permission from the copyright owner.

The university wants to record my lecture. Do I have to agree to a video recording?

This is not a copyright issue, this is a question of working tasks. Normally a teacher is not duty-bound to allow him/herself to be recorded, however if teachers are employed to supply, for example, distance teaching then there is a duty inherent in their employment conditions. Please note that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) may also be applicable as this may be an issue of processing of personal data.

What do I need to consider with regard to intellectual property rights when teaching is done remotely? Some of my lectures and classes will be recorded. Do the intellectual property rights of academic staff apply?

SULF recommends that you discuss copyright terms with your employer before recording any lectures or lessons. This may involve such matters as the scope of the university’s right to use the material which is to be used for distance teaching, e.g. recorded lectures, compendia and study assignments, and how the material is to be updated and quality assured. It is SULF’s view that, as a general rule, the intellectual property rights of academic staff apply to materials used in distance education. If you have any questions regarding copyright and intellectual property issues, please contact the local union representative at your higher education institution. You can find more information about copyright and the intellectual property rights of academic staff here .

I am a doctoral candidate. Can a colleague use parts of my texts without naming me as a source? What are the rules and my rights regarding this?

As for anyone else, the Copyright Act is fully applicable for doctoral candidates. If a person has produced material that meets the requirements of originality, that person retains the copyright to the material. The copyright is not affected by the fact that the person who produced the material is a doctoral candidate. What can complicate the issue is copyrighted material may be the result of several people working in collaboration, for example supervisors collaborating with doctoral candidates. If such cases, they share the copyright.

What is joint copyright?

Joint copyright means that copyright holders have rights to the material together. Note that copyright is shared, which means that one party cannot utilise the material unilaterally. A supervisor may not use material which is jointly copyrighted without the approval of the other copyright holders, e.g. doctoral candidates.

What is a Creative Commons licence, (also known as a CC licence, and what are the implications of the publication of Creative Commons content for the copyright owner/creator of the material?

Creative Commons is a private, independent and co-financed organisation that claims to be non-profit and to strive for copyright owners to easily access a tool through their licenses that enables them to have a platform and to distribute and share their material without having to give up all the rights that copyright implies. There are four main types of CC licence, whereby the copyright owner allows the use of copyrighted material to varying degrees and for different purposes, depending on the license he or she chooses. If you are considering using a CC licence, you should first ensure that you fully understand the terms and conditions of the licence.

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Copyright

Copyright - questions and answers

Below are the FAQs received by SULF concerning copyright issues which, Sanna Wolk (president of SULF), answers in the SULF booklet entitled Universitetslärares copyright (in Swedish). In order to read all the FAQs, including those on contracts and payment, order the booklet from SULF.

Can I get help from SULF?
Yes. Contact our local union representatives, see contact info here.

Quick guide

Hello, how may we help you?

- 1. Register as a job seeker at the Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen).
  
  2. Apply for unemployment benefit from your unemployment insurance fund (A-kassan).
  
  3. Contact the Job Security Foundation (Trygghetsstiftelsen) to check whether you are covered by the state sector transition agreement.
  
  4. If you are entitled to income-related unemployment benefit from a-kassa but not to topping up from the Job Security Agreement, you may apply for benefits from SULF income insurance. Report unemployment to Folksam and apply for compensation from the insurance by filling in this web form on Folksam’s website. Remember to enclose the confirmation from Akademikernas a-kassa with you application for compensation.
  
  More information about what you need to do if you become unemployed can be found here.
  
  If you have any specific questions regarding redundancy and unemployment, you are welcome to contact the SULF members’ helpline.
- Follow these four steps to receive compensation from the SULF unemployment insurance:
  
  1. Register as a job seeker at the Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen).
  
  2. Apply for unemployment benefit from your unemployment insurance fund (A-kassan).
  
  3. Contact the Job Security Foundation (Trygghetsstiftelsen) to check whether you are entitled to additional unemployment support.
  
  4. If you are entitled to income-related unemployment benefit from a-kassa but not to topping up from the Job Security Agreement, you may apply for benefits from SULF income insurance. Report unemployment to Folksam and apply for compensation from the insurance by filling in this web form on Folksam’s website. Remember to enclose the confirmation from Akademikernas a-kassa with you application for compensation.
  
  More information about the SULF income insurance can be found here.
  
  If you have any specific questions, you are welcome to contact the SULF members’ helpline.
- It is up to you to decide when you want to inform your employer that you are going to become a parent, but you must do so at least two months before the start of your parental leave. SULF recommends that you have a planning dialogue with your immediate manager to plan r your parental leave and how your work is to be covered in your absence. This dialogue should also include a discussion of how you can maintain contact with your workplace during your leave and how the return to work should be organised. It is important that you do not lose skills so that you can continue to have good salary and career development.
  
  It is also a good idea to establish a “contract” with your manager. This contract does not have legal bearing but can provide support and guidance for both you and your manager and help to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.
  
  More information about rules regarding parental leave can be found here.
  
  If you are a member of SULF you can log in to My pages. Under the Handböcker tab you will find a pdf entitled Advice for your parental leave.
  
  If you have any specific questions regarding parental leave, you are welcome to contact the SULF members’ helpline.
- The Swedish Employment Act lists four forms of fixed term employment – general fixed-term, substitute, seasonal and fixed-term employment when the employee is 67 or older.
  
  More information about the rules regarding different types of fixed term employment can be found here.
  
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- If you are a member of another Saco union, you can have dual membership and join SULF for a very small additional cost. This will give you membership of two unions for a single fee and provide access to two membership magazines, membership benefits from both unions and more.
  
  More information about our dual-membership fees can be found here (pdf).
  
  If you have any specific questions regarding membership, you are welcome to contact the SULF membership service.
- Normal membership fee: SEK 285 per month
  
  Doctoral candidate membership fee: SEK 100 per month
  
  Retired members fee: SEK 660 per year
  
  If you are a member of another Saco union, you can have dual membership and join SULF for a very small additional cost. More information about our dual-membership fees can be found here (pdf).
  
  If you have any questions regarding membership fees, you are welcome to contact the SULF membership service.
- Membership of SULF provides you with one of the best income insurance schemes on the market. It also includes our members’ magazine Universitetsläraren and discounts on several magazine subscriptions, as well as access to advice and support and a range of exclusive discounts on insurances and loans.
  
  More information about our membership benefits can be found here.
  
  If you have any specific questions regarding membership benefits, you are welcome to contact the SULF membership service.
- Membership of SULF does not include membership of an unemployment insurance fund. SULF recommends that you join the AEA unemployment insurance fund, Akademikernas a-kassa.
  
  More information about membership of the fund and how to apply can be found here.
- We are delighted that you want to join us!
  
  You can find an application form here.
  
  If you would like to know more about our membership fees and benefits, please see here.
- SULF recommends that you join the AEA unemployment insurance fund, Akademikernas a-kassa.
  
  More information about membership of the fund and how to apply can be found here.
Local union representative
Contact your local Saco-S association if you have questions about salaries, working hours, terms of employment or working environment, or if you need negotiation support regarding a specific issue. You will find contact information here.

SULF member’s helpline
Contact SULF member’s helpline for general or more fundamental issues regarding labour and employment law. Call 08-505 836 00, press 1, or email radgivning@sulf.se. Available by email every weekday, phone hours Wednesdays 1-3 p.m. and Fridays 9-11.30 a.m.

SULF membership service
If you have questions about your membership, benefits, fees, invoices or our members’ magazine Universitetsläraren please contact SULF membership service. Call 08-505 836 00, press 2, or email medlem@sulf.se. Available by email every day, telephone hours Monday and Wednesday 9-11.30 a.m.
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