Researchers often uses the work of others and incorporate this into their own research: copyright indicates within which framework researchers may do so.
Important in this regard is article 15a of the Dutch copyright law: the right to quote. The right to quote includes both text, images, audio- and video fragments. Works may be quoted when:
- The quoted work was made public lawfully;
- The quote serves to support the content of your work. It is not for embellishment;
- Nothing more is quoted than strictly necessary. Images may be quoted in their entirety;
- No changes have been made in the quoted work;
- The quoted source is clearly stated.
Research, when it is made public, is a new creation: a new work with new rights, with the researcher (or a third party) as copyright holder. Copyright indicates what the rights of the researcher are and how third parties may use the work.
If a researcher wants to make the work public, there are several questions that must be answered: how does the researcher want to make the work public? Through a large (or small) publisher? Through Open Access? Here too there is a copyright dimension: can the researcher retain the copyright if so desired?
Here you will find several frequently asked questions by researchers concerning copyright. If your question is not included, contact the Copyright Information Point via copyright@eur.nl