Copyright and Intellectual Property FAQs
Check here for frequently asked questions we receive at the Library about Copyright and Intellectual Property.
PLEASE NOTE: The information provided is for guidance only and should not be considered legal verdict. For any specific doubts not resolved in the following FAQs, please contact the IQS Library team.
A. Citation, plagiarism, and academic work
Because acknowledging sources defines responsibilities and authorship; omitting this can be considered plagiarism, even if you submit or share it on Virtual Campus, Moodle, Microsoft Teams, and Leganto.
Please consult our specific page on document citation.
The correct way is to cite the cited document and not the document you are consulting.
It is presenting as one’s own what is not (text, images, audiovisuals, etc.) without acknowledging the source, also if it is disseminated on Campus Virtual, Moodle, Microsoft Teams, and Leganto.
It allows you to include fragments from previously published works for analysis, commentary, or critical review for teaching or research purposes, indicating the source and author, also if you publish it on Virtual Campus, Moodle, Microsoft Teams, and Leganto.
No. Quoting is not the same as disseminating complete works; quoting usually covers justified segments. This also applies if you upload them to Virtual Campus, Moodle, Microsoft Teams, and Leganto.
B. Sharing teaching materials
Overall, sharing complete works requires authorisation or a licence permitting it; citations usually cover excerpts, not the entire document.
Yes, and this is usually the recommended option: linking to library resources or legitimate sources reduces copyright risks and respects licences, especially in Virtual Campus, Moodle, Microsoft Teams, and Leganto.
Yes, if they are your own work. If they contain images, tables, or excerpts from third parties, check permissions/licences and cite correctly before publishing them.
Not by default: Google is a search engine. You must check the licence or use images with clear permissions (Creative Commons or public domain, for example).
It usually requires permission or a licence; if it fits as a citation, it must be a justified fragment with a complete reference.
In general, it is preferable to link to the resource (link resolver/institutional link) rather than uploading downloaded files, in order to comply with the terms of use and avoid licence violations.
C. Creative Commons licenses and Open Access
These are licences that allow works to be reused under clear conditions (attribution, non-commercial, no derivatives, share alike), which are useful when sharing materials on Virtual Campus, Moodle, Microsoft Teams and Leganto.
To find out more, see our Guide about Copyright and Intellectual Property, where we discuss them in depth.
- BY: requires attribution.
- NC: non-commercial use only.
- ND: modified works may not be shared.
- SA: adaptations must be shared under the same licence.
To find out more, see our Guide about Copyright and Intellectual Property, where we discuss them in depth.
It is a free-access publication that facilitates access and certain reuses, while maintaining the recognition and integrity of the work; very useful if you link from Virtual Campus, Moodle, Microsoft Teams, and Leganto.
To learn more, see our section dedicated to open access publishing.
D. Public domain and special cases
When the period of protection of exploitation rights expires, the work may be used freely; this also applies if you publish it on Campus Virtual, Moodle, Microsoft Teams, and Leganto.
Protected work whose owners cannot be identified or located despite a diligent search; there are European and national regulations for certain uses (especially cultural/educational institutions).
E. Legal concepts
IP is the legal framework that protects original creations and defines what can be done with them (use, share, transform, etc.), including when they are published or shared on the Virtual Campus, Moodle, Microsoft Teams, and Leganto.
They are the part of IP that applies to creative works (texts, images, music, audiovisuals, software, etc.) and regulates their reuse and dissemination.
- Moral rights: authorship and integrity.
- Economic rights: reproduction, distribution, public communication and transformation; key if you share content on Virtual Campus, Moodle, Microsoft Teams and Leganto.
Yes. The absence of the symbol does not mean ‘free’; if there is no explicit licence, protection is assumed except for legal exceptions, including for materials you upload to Virtual Campus, Moodle, Microsoft Teams, and Leganto.
The basic regulation is the Texto Refundido de la Ley de Propiedad Intelectual (RDL 1/1996) and amendments such as Ley 21/2014.
Guides and other resources
Contact us
For further information and doubts, please contact the IQS Library team.