BeckerGuides: Author Rights and Copyright: Archived Presentations

Recommended Practices

Recommended Practices for Archived Presentations

Presentations (usually in PPT format) given as part of a lecture series or invited talks provide learning opportunities for investigators, clinicians and scholars. Many presentations are also archived and presented virtually via digital technology to allow for viewing by others within and outside of Washington University in St. Louis.

Most presentations contain material that is protected by copyright. Copyright and fair use guidelines that govern use of copyrighted materials differ for presentations that are available for viewing by virtual audiences. The general rule of thumb is that copyrighted materials should not be used without permission of the owner. To avoid copyright infringement, presenters are highly encouraged to use materials from the public domain or materials that are licensed under a Creative Commons license. Material that contains personally identifiable information (PII) should be avoided for all presentations.

Material Type	Examples	Allowed/Not Allowed
Cartoons /Sketches	New Yorker cartoons; cartoons from comic books; online funnies; sketch or drawing from a lab book; doodles; etc.	Not allowed. Exceptions: Presenter drew the cartoon. Presenter has a license to use the cartoons. Permission has been obtained from the copyright owner of the cartoon for use in a presentation that will be archived and presented virtually via digital technology. Cartoon is in the public domain. Cartoon is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
Charts, Tables and Figures from an electronic or print source	Figure or table from PDF journal article or book or dissertation; chart from an industry brochure; etc.	Not allowed. Exceptions: Presenter created the chart, table or figure and has not published the material. Presenter holds the copyright to the chart, table or figure. Chart, table or figure is in the public domain. Chart, table or figure is licensed under a Creative Commons license. CAVEAT: If the presenter created and published the chart, table or figure as part of a journal article or book or other work, the copyright may not belong to the presenter. Most authors assign copyright to the publisher of the work.
Facts	Chemical compounds; acronyms; procedures; calendars; etc.	Yes, allowed. Facts are not subject to copyright.
Images or Photos	Images from Google; photos from a personal collection; images from a journal article or book; etc.	It depends. Exceptions: Image belongs to the presenter and has not been previously published. Image is in the public domain. Image is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
Personally Identifiable Information (PII)	Faces of patients in photos; Social Security numbers in a table; EHR computer screen containing names and addresses or ID numbers; date of birth; etc.	Not allowed. PII must be removed.
Survey Instruments	Questionnaires; scoring sheets; surveys; etc.	Not allowed. Exceptions: Permission has been obtained from the copyright owner of the survey instrument for use in a presentation that will be archived and presented virtually via digital technology. Survey instrument is in the public domain. Survey instrument is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
Unpublished Material	Manuscripts; research notes; data; etc.	Yes, allowed if authored by the presenter. CAVEAT: If the unpublished material will be submitted for publication, carefully consider the content and data being presented, especially if the material represents new findings or contains intellectual property/patent content. TIP: Provide attribution for the work so that others do not re-use without permission.

Questions? Contact Cathy Sarli or Amy Suiter.