According to Intellectual Property Department, "course pack" means a compilation of photocopied extracts from one or more sources which is intended to provide students with a compilation of materials designed to support the teaching of a course. Under the prevailing Copyright Ordinance of Hong Kong, the production of course pack is excluded from the “fair dealing” exemption.
Lingnan University has a Licence Agreement with the Hong Kong Reprographic Rights Licensing Society Ltd. on making and using copies of the licensed materials for preparation of course packs commencing from 1 January 2005 subject to terms and conditions below:
- All copies of the licensed materials and course packs are only made by the instructors or staff of the Licensee, i.e. Lingnan University.
- With respect to a course pack, it shall not include copies of extracts from more than 30 works.
- With respect to each issue of newspaper, journal or periodical, the Licensee shall not, in any one academic year, copy more than one complete article of any length for inclusion in any single course pack.
- With respect to any other licensed materials, the Licensee shall not, in any one academic year, copy more than 10% or a chapter of that licensed material, whichever covers the smaller portion, for inclusion in any single course pack.
- Licensed materials do not include all works listed in Schedule IV "List of Excluded Licensed Materials" of the Agreement, and all textbooks.
- The Licence Agreement does not authorize copying from some general categories of published works as well as some specific publishers and works themselves.
- Licence fee for 2020 will be: number of pages of copies made of the licensed materials x HK$0.95. Cost for each page reproduced will be:
- Licence fee $0.95 per page, plus
- Photocopying fee $0.30 per page, plus
- Binding and handling fee $15 per copy
Should you require service on production of course packs or detail information on copyright and licensing arrangement, please contact library staff at library@ln.edu.hk.
The Library offers support on copyright verification and clearance in different context:
- Self-archiving: provide advice and help contact publisher to seek copyright permission.
- Digital Publishing Service: provide advice and seek copyright owner’s permission when the publication is owned by third party.
- Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) of UGC: supports the University’s copyright clearance request in RAEs.
All members of the University are welcome to contact the Library for any enquiries relating to copyright. Please e-mail us: scholars@ln.edu.hk. Our services include:
- Advice on copyright issues in relation to teaching, learning and research
- Advice on managing your copyright
- Arrange copyright seminars
*Our service is informational only, not for providing legal advice.
Information guides on copyright
Information guides on different topics relating to copyright will be prepared to provide you the latest update on these issues and the Library’s advice. These guides include author-right, copyright agreement, self-archiving, open access, etc.