Code of Conduct for use of Software and Datasets
August 1993 (rev October 2003, March 2006)
This Code of Conduct should be observed by all users of software and computer-readable datasets, issued or made available to them by or through the University of St Andrews (the University). For convenience, such software and datasets will be referred to as the Product. The Product will generally consitute copyright material in electronic form.The Code of Conduct is based on a Code proposed by the former Universities' Funding Council (UFC). It is designed to outline the responsibilities of, and practices to be followed by, the University and its staff and students.
1. Upholding the Law
1.1 In the matter of the maintenance of copyright, the Law requires the University to take overall responsibility for the actions of its members.
1.2 In turn the University expects all staff and students to uphold the Law and will follow the guidelines and practices given in this Code of Conduct in order to ensure that the Law is upheld.
2. Legal and other conditions
2.1 Unless advised to the contrary, it is to be assumed that the Product is subject to the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (1988). This means that the Product must not be copied without the express permission of the copyright holders, except for the clearly-defined purpose of safety backup.
2.2 In addition, there are frequently extra conditions imposed by the vendor of the Product, in order to provide the Product at a reduced cost to the University - for instance via a site licence. Sometimes this includes the requirement that the Product shall be supplied or licensed only for Educational Use (see below for definition).
2.3 All users of the Product supplied or licensed by the University will be advised of the conditions under which it may be used and when required to do so will sign a declaration incorporating the local Copyright Acknowledgement.
3. Supply, maintenance and recall of the Product by the University
3.1 Where it is a condition of supply of the Product, the University will organise a single point of contact for dealing with queries and support of the Product. This contact person will normally be someone within IT Services.
3.2 The University will maintain a record, or require any Department which is in receipt of the Product to maintain such a record, of each copy of the Product that is available for use in the University. In either case the record shall contain details of the licensing arrangements for each Product together with the names of any persons to whom a copy has been issued.
3.3 The University will organise arrangements for the back-up, copying and distribution of the Product and its Documentation, subject to the terms of any licence or conditions imposed by the vendor. Users shall not copy or distribute copies of the Product or its Documentation unless permitted to do so under the terms of the licence.
3.4 The University shall not permit users to reverse-engineer or decompile any Product without such provision being specifically included in the licence for the Product.
3.5 In the event of termination of the licence for a Product, the University will instruct the contact person to call in all copies of that Product and, where appropriate, make arrangements for the safeguarding of the authorised archival copy.
3.6 All users of the Product will return all copies of the Product at the end of their courses or period of employment in the University, or when requested to do so by IT Services.
4. Use of the Product by foreign nationals
No persons shall be excluded from use of the Product for reasons of nationality or citizenship.
5. Compliance with this code
The University will use its best endeavours to apply, administer and ensure compliance with this Code of Conduct. Any breach of this Code by University staff or students will be regarded as a breach of the Conditions for the Use of Computers within the University.
Definition of Educational Use
This Definition is based on the General Licence Conditions which apply in CHEST centrally-negotiated agreements and in the recommended Form of Licence for non-centrally negotiated offers.
The Product may be used by any employee, student, or other persons authorised by the Licensee (in this case the University) for the purposes of the normal business of the Licensee's organisation, whether or not they are located on the Licensee's premises.
Such use of the Product includes the following:
- Teaching
- Research
- Personal educational development
- Administration and management of the business of the Licensee's organisation
- Development work associated with any of the above
Generally excluded are the following:
- Consultancy or services leading to commercial exploitation of the Product
- Work of significant benefit to the employer of students on industrial placement or part-time courses
Commercial exploitation in the context of this definition is the use of the Product for monetary gain either by the University or an individual. Where the Product is so used, the Licensor may allow such use in return for acknowledgement of the use of the Product and/or for an agreed fee: this must be a matter for discussion between the Supplier and the Licensee.