We help professors and teachers to clear copyrights of printed materials of their courses, anad to produce course packs for students. Simply give us your teaching materials and we'll handle the rest.
A course pack is a compilation (whether bound or loose-leaf) of four or more photocopied extracts from one or more copyrighted works, and is intended to provide students with a compilation of materials designed to support the teaching of a course.
Most published works are protected by the Hong Kong Copyright Ordinances and International Copyright Ordinances: the right to reproduce belongs to authors or publishers. Copyright fees will be paid through licensing bodies to the original copyright holders or authors. The benefits of course packs to students are:
| 1. | They can save time in searching and photocopying materials required for their courses. |
| 2. | They need to pay for only what is necessary for their courses. |
| 3. | They can possess a copy of the materials legally. |
In Hong Kong, the organization responsible for licensing copyrighted materials is the Hong Kong Reprographic Rights Licensing Society (HKRRLS) which was established in 1998. It is the Hong Kong Branch of the International Federation for Reprographic Rights Licensing Organizations (IFRRO), and therefore can authorize reprographic reproduction of materials from most publishers and copyright owners worldwide through reciprocal arrangements with IFRRO. A course pack can contain a variety of materials, including:
| 1. | Materials with copyright owned by professors/ instructors themselves | No fees need to be paid to any licensing bodies |
| 2. | Materials from professors/instructors to students including course details, grading criteria, assignments, reading list, URLs for accessing online articles, examination dates,etc. | No fees need to be paid to any licensing bodies |
| 3. | Materials licensed from licensing bodies including HKRRLS | Fees need to be paid to HKRRLS for distribution to copyright owners it represents worldwide |
| 4. | Materials licensed from publishers or copyright owners other than HKRRLS | Fees need to be paid to the publishers/copyright holders |
The Licence issued by HKRRLS stipulates the following amount for any one single course pack:
| 1. | Copies of extracts from up to THIRTY (30) copyrighted works can be included. However, only one course pack can be compiled for any one course in an academic year. |
| 2. | With respect to a newspaper, journal or periodical issue, no more than ONE (1) complete article of any length from that newspaper, journal or periodical issue can be included; |
| 3. | With respect to any other copyrighted works other than newspapers, journals or periodicals, no more than TEN PERCENT (10%) or one CHAPTER of a copyrighted work, whichever covers a smaller portion of the work, can be included. |
Most published works are protected by the Hong Kong Copyright Ordinances and International Copyright Ordinances: the right to reproduce belongs to authors or publishers. Copyright fees will be paid through licensing bodies to the original copyright holders or authors. The benefits of course packs to students are:
| 1. | Cross-check your "master" copy against the permission list authorized by HKRRLS. If special copyright permission is needed, we shall contact the copyright owners for you. |
| 2. | Provide a proof to you for confirmation before production. |
| 3. | A front cover and a back cover will be added. The following statement will be added to the front cover of the course pack as required by HKRRLS. This material (Reference Number: XXXXXX) has been copied in accordance with the terms of the licence issued by The Hong Kong Reprographic Rights Licensing Society Limited. You are not permitted to make any further copy of this material, or to make it available to others. No re-sale is permitted. |
The price will include the following components:
| 1. | Licence fee payable to HKRRLS, other publishers, or copyright owners. In 2010-2011, HKRRLS charges HK$0.5 per page per copy of the original copyrighted work within a reproduction limit of 10%, (and the rate will be much higher if this limit is exceeded, and will be subject to negotiation with HKRRLS), plus |
| 2. | Photocopying fee; plus |
| 3. | Binding and handling fee. |
We shall inform you the price of the course pack after we have received and checked the "master" copy from you.
We prefer students to make bulk purchase of the course pack when your course commences. Please seek assistance from your class representatives to collect the fees and pass to us in one lot. Once we received payments, we will produce the required quantities and then arrange group pick-up by students.
| 1. | Before your course starts, collect "original" source materials you wish to include in your course pack. Remember to observe the restrictions imposed by HKRRLS above. |
| 2. | Prepare a nice photocopy of the materials ("master" copy). Please refer to the points below. |
| 3. | Compile a Table of Contents. |
The Licence issued by HKRRLS stipulates the following amount for any one single course pack:
| 1. | Provide dark, clear and legible copy Make sure your "master" copy is clear and legible. Check for good contrast and ensure that no line is broken. |
| 2. | Reserve at least one-half inch margin on all sides of pages Reserve enough space on the margins of each page so that no text will be lost in photocopying and binding. One-half inch is a minimum. We recommend one inch. |
| 3. | A4-size master copy only, avoid odd-size copy "Master" copy must be printed using A4-size white paper. If you use a page taken from a leaflet or brochure, please enlarge or reduce it to A4-size first. |
| 4. | Black-and-white images only We can only handle the reproduction of black-and-white images. Colour materials will not reproduce satisfactorily. |
| 5. | Single-sided photocopies All pages should be numbered sequentially on the back if possible. We will add sequential page numbers on all pages of the course pack. |
| 6. | No staples, no "manual paste-up" artworks We need to insert your “master” copy into an automatic document feeder; thus, we cannot handle documents with staples or bindings. Make photocopies of all these "artworks" before passing them to us. Do not send "paste-up" copies. |
If you have any queries on course pack production, please contact Miss Stella Au
by phone: 3442 6393
by fax: 2628 2606
or by email: stella.au@cityu.edu.hk
Coursepack Production
City University of Hong Kong Press
Suite 401, Festival Walk Tower, 80 Tat Chee Avenue
Kowloon, Hong Kong
