BU Policies and Procedures

Generally, copyright protection lasts for 70 years following the death of the author. However, different rules apply to certain types of works. By default, the economic rights to creative work is held by its author. However, these rights can be assigned or sold (e.g. to a publisher) In cases where the work is created as part of employment, the employer typically holds the copyright, unless otherwise specified in the employment contract or agreement

These economic rights are intended to protect the copyright holder from financial loss. When someone copies a work without permission, they may deprive the rights holder of potential income by distributing the work for free. In addition to economic rights, moral rights are also protected under the Copyright Act. This includes:

• the right to be identified as the author or director of a work
• the right to object to derogatory treatment of the work
• the right to prevent false attribution of authorship
• the right of individuals who commission photographs to restrict their publication
• these moral rights help ensure that creators are properly credited and that their works are used respectfully and ethically

SensusAccess is a self-service system that allows students and staff to convert files into many different formats, including digital Braille, MP3, Daisy and plain text

You can make an accessible copy if you own the copyright (e.g. it's your own work), have permission from the copyright holder, if the copyright has expired, or if it's for someone with a print disability. If it’s for someone with a print disability you need to agree that:

• the copy won't be shared with others
• you can't find a commercially available version in an appropriate format
• you abide by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, Section 31A (Disabled persons: copies of works for personal use) For further advice, please contact the Library