Introduction

Background

HKUST signed two agreements with the Hong Kong Reprographic Rights Licensing Society Ltd. (HKRRLS) to enable the production of photocopied (printed) and scanned (digital) course packs at the University. Media Technology and Publishing Center (MTPC) is responsible for implementing both agreements by providing copyright clearance, photocopying, digital printing, binding, page scanning and imposition to produce printed or digital course packs for course users.

What is a Course Pack?

A printed course pack is a compilation of photocopied extracts of licensed materials, designed in advance to be used in support of a course of study. Digital course pack means a compilation of extracts of licensed materials for scanning in the form of scan copies, also for supporting a course of study.

What can be included in a course pack?

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 relevant licensing bodies for distributing them to copyright owners worldwide.
     
  4. Materials licensed from publishers or copyright owners other than HKRRLS.
    Fees need to be paid to the publishers/copyright holders.
     

Why Course Pack

  • The copyright clearance and production of course packs in HKUST, either in printed or digital form, can be done in-house by MTPC Printshop with a single request. It saves a lot of time for instructors in preparing the course materials;
  • As course packs cover the exact topics of the course. It can save a lot of money for students in buying course materials;
  • As all readings and articles contained in a course pack have been cleared for copyright. Students can possess a copy of the materials legally.