Copyright is an important issue and understanding how the law works is essential in HE because as users, producers and disseminators of information we need to maximise our ability to exploit the value in our own work. We also need awareness in order to minimise the risk of infringement and the consequent liability towards others.
Jisc Legal has produced a ‘need to know’ online training course in copyright law – designed to bring academic staff and those supporting academic staff up to speed on legally using other people’s materials in teaching and learning. You have to register in order to view the course but it's worth doing as it explains good practice of the use of various copyright materials in different academic scenarios (eg the use of images, video clips and text in VLEs, lectures, etc).