Every work is protected by copyright. The scope and terms of copyright depend on the agreements you make with the rights holder or on the terms specified by the rights holder for their work. For example, an image may have been commissioned by the UvA with the relevant rights acquired. In some cases, you may also be permitted to use an image under a Creative Commons licence. This also applies to images found online.

Copyright (Article 1 of the Dutch Copyright Act 1912) refers to the legal ownership of a work. This may belong to the creator, but it may also belong to another rights holder if, for example, the creator has transferred their rights to someone else. The rights holder of an image (photograph, video or illustration) automatically has the exclusive right to publish and reproduce the work. This means that a work may not be published without the rights holder’s permission. Copyright also means that you are always required to credit the creator(s) or rights holder.

When a photographer takes a portrait photograph on behalf of the UvA, the photographer holds the copyright to the photograph. However, because the photographer is working on behalf of the UvA, they may not publish or reproduce the photograph without the university’s permission. Depending on the agreements made regarding the use of the photograph, you may, for example, be required to credit the creator, distribute the photograph in a limited edition or use it for a specified period.

You may also want to use an image found online and need to establish the terms under which you can use it. There are several ways in which copyright and usage rights can be arranged:

Copyright transfer: The creator of the material can transfer the copyright to the University of Amsterdam. The university then becomes the legal owner of the work and has control over how it may be used, without having to seek the creator’s permission. Such arrangements should be set out in a contract.

Licence (right of use): The University of Amsterdam can obtain a licence from a photographer, illustrator or filmmaker as the commissioning party. This gives the UvA permission to use the work in specific ways — for example, only on the website, only for a particular publication, or with an exception for campaigns. Under a licence, the creator remains the legal owner of the work. If you want to arrange permission to use a work, put the agreement in writing in a licence agreement.

Creative Commons licence: You may find an image online that is available under a Creative Commons licence (CC licence). This means that the creator grants permission to use their work without the need to request explicit permission, provided that you comply with the conditions of the licence. There are four important points to bear in mind:

• Always credit the creator.
• Use is permitted only for non-commercial purposes.
• The work may not be adapted or altered from the original (for example, by editing it in Photoshop).
• The right to distribute adapted material as original work may be subject to specific conditions.

There are six types of Creative Commons licence. A work can be made available under any one of these six licences, so always check which licence the creator has chosen before using the work in your publication. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.nl/uitleg/.