Start main content

Guidelines for the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights

The University, being a publicly-funded institution, has the responsibility to respect copyright and be the role model of society. Refusal to follow the Copyright law may tarnish the image of the University and subject ourselves to potential infringement lawsuits initiated by copyright owners.

According to the Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance, teachers and students are able to make reasonable and fair use of copyright works for teaching and learning purposes in appropriate circumstances without infringing copyright. But teachers and students consider that they should use or deal with reasonable portions of copyright works in a fair manner for teaching and learning in a specified course of study. To decide whether an act of dealing with a copyright work is ‘fair’, please consider all the circumstances, in particular:

  1. the purpose and nature of the dealing, including whether such dealing is for non-profit-making purpose and whether it is of a commercial nature;
  2. the nature of work;
  3. the amount and substantiality of the portion dealt with in relation to the work as a whole; and
  4. the effect of the dealing on the potential market for or value of the work.

In case any photocopying made by you falls outside the guidelines allowed, the University has the right to immediately disallow the user from making any copies and shall hold the user liable on an indemnity basis for any claims, liabilities, costs and damages the University may suffer as a result of such infringement. For further details, please refer to the website of the University Library: https://library.hkbu.edu.hk/get-help/copyright-information/. And the Copyright in Education webpage of the Intellectual Property Department: http://www.ipd.gov.hk/eng/education.htm.