COPYRIGHT INFORMATION POINT

For students

All AUAS students will have to deal with copyright issues during their studies, for example when using images from papers or theses or when publishing their own thesis. Patent rights or design rights may also come into play. So what are your rights and how do you respect those of others?

With regard to the copyright of another person: the right of citation

The copyright is owned by the creator of the work. This means that you are not allowed to simply use portions of someone else's work in your thesis or paper. The quotations must fit in the context of your piece and you must cite the sources used. Quoting without a source citation is called plagiarism and is punishable.
The AUAS has rules and practice concerning plagiarism that you must comply with when writing your assignment, paper or essay. See plagiarism (Dutch) for more information.

The rules for citation also apply to copying an image or photo. You may copy the image to discuss it (with a source citation), but are not allowed to use the image as decoration or to change it. See also the SURF Rules of thumb for the use of audio and visual material (Dutch).

You can find the answers to frequently asked questions on the SURF website Copyrights in Higher Education. You can sort the questions by Theme, e.g. Images and audio or Publications.

SOURCE CITATION

The manner in which you cite your sources depends on your study programme. Each field of study prescribes a particular reference or citation style. The most widely used style at the AUAS is APA of the American Psychological Association. When in doubt, ask your lecturer which style to use.

Citation tools

Manually modifying references in a certain citation style, for example APA, requires accuracy and can be time-consuming. A citation tool, also known as a Citation Management programme, can take a lot of work out of your hands. Programmes such as RefWorks, Mendeley, Zotero and Endnote have a Word plug-in with which you can easily insert citations and source lists into your text, in any style you like. Mendeley and Zotero are available in free versions.

Please note: RefWorks is only available until July 2022.

With regard to your own work: the right to your own work

When you write a thesis or paper, you are the author and have the copyright. You do not need to do anything to copyright your work.

Naturally, the dream of many students is to make a groundbreaking discovery. Whether it is a new production process, a unique text or an original drawing, the following question constantly arises in the education sector: whose is it?

All Dutch universities of applied sciences have contributed to the Guideline on Intellectual Property for Students and Institutions (hereinafter referred to as the Guideline), which concerns the relationship between the educational institution and the student regarding intellectual property rights (hereinafter referred to as IPR): who owns the IPR and when? The starting point is that the student owns the IPR, but there are exceptions and points requiring attention.

An internship company will naturally want to use the results of the internship or assignment. The same applies if the student takes an active part in research. For this reason, students are often asked to transfer the IPR in a contract. At the same time, students and degree programmes must also be able to use these results for a report, an accreditation or the AUAS Knowledge Base. In general, students, companies and degree programmes will manage to sort this out between themselves. The Guideline explicitly lays down regulations for situations in which this is not the case. For practical assignments: if the student does not wish to transfer the IPR, the degree programme has a best-efforts obligation to look for an equivalent alternative together with the student concerned, whereby the student is able to achieve the same learning outcomes without having to transfer his or her IPR.