Closed-source licences
Some materials may be under licences that are not open, such as proprietary or closed-source licences. These licences restrict how the material can be used, modified, or shared. Always verify the licensing terms to ensure compliance.
Accessing or linking to material without proper permission is generally considered illegal.
When accessing material from the internet, it is your responsibility to ensure that you have the necessary permissions to do so. Downloading content is only allowed when you have explicit consent, so always check before proceeding when you use resources from the internet. Additionally, make sure to reference the material correctly.
Depending on your course, you might have access to additional licensed material. Please check with your course tutor for more information.
Access material from Locate
As a student, you can access the materials from the library catalogue. Use Locate to find books, journals, scholarly articles, and more.
Access broadcast recordings
The ERA Licence enables establishments to legally make recordings or copies of TV and radio programmes for educational use without seeking permission. It covers the TV and radio output of its broadcaster members. It underpins the Box of Broadcasts service.
Make copies available to students
If you are an academic and want to learn how to make scanned copies of materials available to your students, please read our copyright page for staff.
Using third-party resources How do you license your work?
When you enrolled in your course as a student, you agreed that "...any intellectual property (IP) developed with significant input from University staff and resources or as part of a collective project must be assigned to the University (outlined in General Regulations Appendix 12)."
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Beyond Copyright: Exploring Other Essential Licenses
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Licence Check Tool Open Licences
Some content owners grant people upfront permission to reuse copyrighted material for free with certain conditions. You must always follow the suggested guidelines, even if it is just to acknowledge the material you wish to use. These are the most common open licences:
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Free Art License grants the right to freely copy, distribute, and transform creative works without any changes. It is compatible with the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike (CC BY-SA) licence.
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The Open Government Licence for public sector information is a copyright licence for Crown Copyright works published by the UK government. Other UK public sector bodies may apply it to their publications. It was developed and is maintained by The National Archives. It is compatible with the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence.
Work of the United States government is prepared by an officer or employee of the Federal Government as part of that person's official duties. Such works generally are not entitled to domestic copyright protection under US law. Therefore, they are in the public domain (see public domain to learn more).
Open Resource Jar
Using search engines to find resources is convenient, but it can be unclear whether you have permission to use them. This site provides a list of websites offering free resources for reuse. You can browse and search by keyword or category.
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Coventry University
Frederick Lanchester Building
Gosford Street
Coventry, United Kingdom
CV1 5DD
Telephone:+44 (0) 24 7765 7575
Email: ask-a-librarian.lib@coventry.ac.uk
