Research and copyright
Copyright and Research Ethics
Copyright Protection of Form and Ethical Protection of Ideas
Copyright protects the original artistic or literary form of a work. Copyright or other types of intellectual property rights do not safeguard ideas, topics, or information.
Research ethics, however, can offer protection to research ideas. The use of another researcher’s ideas without permission or attribution may be considered a form of research ethical misconduct - specifically, plagiarism.
Copyright-Based and Ethical Authorship
Copyright is granted to the individual who makes creative choices that determine the artistic or literary form of a work. In scientific publishing, copyright belongs to the authors who give the publication its written form. However, ethical authorship in research is broader than copyright-based authorship. Ethical roles should be specified and agreed upon before submitting an article to a publisher. The recommendation "Authorship in Scientific Publications" by the Finnish National Board on Research Integrity (TENK) requires that authorship for each manuscript be agreed prior to sending the manuscript to the publisher. Funding bodies also require that researchers follow authorship guidelines.
Aalto University Contract Templates:
Agreeing on Authorship Principles | Aalto University
From a research ethics perspective, all individuals who have significantly contributed to the creation of an article must be acknowledged. Research ethics recognizes more roles than copyright and their contributions should be specified also in cases not required by copyright legislation.
Publications should identify and state the various roles of contributors, such as the person who conceived the research concept. Various ethically significant roles have been defined in:
Exceptions Securing Freedom of Scientific Research
includes specific exceptions that safeguard the freedom of research. Use of a work does not require the copyright holder’s permission if a statutory exception applies.
Quotation Right
A researcher may quote previously published text or images if the quotation is justified. It is justified, for example, to illustrate a scientific text with an image when the image is analyzed in the text. Quotations must follow good academic practice. The length of the citation must correspond to the purpose of use. Images cannot be used merely for decoration; they must be relevant to and illuminate the accompanying text. For more details, see:
Text and Data Mining Exception
The text and data mining (TDM) exception permits the analysis of works and other materials protected by copyright using digital research methods within scientific research at universities. The TDM exception also allows for the training and use of AI systems in analyzing material for scientific research at universities. For more information, see: Artificial Intelligence and Copyright | Aalto University
Protection of Databases in Copyright Law
Database as an Original Work
A database is rarely original in form and therefore seldom receives copyright protection. The Copyright Council has issued a statement about that. (, in Finnish only.)
Sui Generis Database Right and Catalogue Protection
In addition to copyright, the Copyright Act provides for catalogue protection and sui generis database protection. These rights protect investments, not the originality of form.
A large amount of work or investment in a database does not make it original enough to be protected by copyright. Sui generis database protection and catalogue protection safeguard the investment and are granted to the party who made the investment. For instance, database rights to a database created by an employee belong to the employer, such as a university.
Research studies and research publications are enabled by the following copyright exceptions, which are exceptions to the general rule that the author's permission is needed to use a work.
1. Text and data mining
In the EU's DSM directive, the exception provision for text and data mining enables the use of copyrighted works of EU right holders for text and data mining in digital research methods. In Finland, the right of research organizations to engage in text and data mining is regulated in Section 13 b, paragraph 2.
Section 13b (263/2023)
Reproduction of works for text and data mining
A person who has lawful access to a work may reproduce it in order to carry out text and data mining and retain the copies solely for that purpose, unless this right has been expressly reserved by the author in an appropriate manner.
Research organisations and cultural heritage institutions with lawful access to a work may reproduce it in order to carry out text and data mining in scientific research and retain the copies for the purpose of scientific research, including for the subsequent verification of research results, provided that the copies are only available to those with lawful access to them. The provisions of this subsection shall not be derogated from in contracts and agreements, nor shall its application be prevented by technical means.
In the context of scientific research at a university, the right to engage in text and data mining may not be restricted by contracts or technical means. If a right holder whose material is intended to be mined is located outside the EU and contract terms, such as user agreements to which the user is bound, prohibit text and data mining, please contact your school's legal counsel to determine whether the mandatory exception provision provided in EU legislation is applicable in that case.
The exception provision for text and data mining only allows for the reproduction of works for the purpose of text and data mining; databases containing works intended for text and data mining may not be published.
The exception provision for text and data mining may allow for the use of works as training data for artificial intelligence models There is a more detailed breakdown of copyright protection and artificial intelligence see Artificial Intelligence and Copyright.
2. Citation
The exceptions apply to economic rights, and therefore when citing another author's work, the author's name and the cited work and source must be mentioned. A citation can only be as long as required by the purpose.
Section 22 of the Copyright Act generally allows the citation of all works, but the citation of a movie, video, or other audio-visual or audio work has been strictly interpreted in legal practice.
Section 22 (446/1995)
Quotation (607/2015)
A work made public may be quoted, in a manner required by proper usage to the extent necessary for the purpose.
The illumination of scientific text with an image related to the text is allowed under Section 25, subsection 1(1) of the Copyright Act, but only if the author, the work and the source information are mentioned in accordance with good scientific practice.
Section 25 (446/1995)
Use of works of art that have been made public or transferred (607/2015)
Works of art made public may be reproduced in pictorial form in material connection with the text:
1) in a critical or scientific presentation;
The image must be related to the text and it must have a citation function, i.e., it cannot be merely decorative. There is a separate guide for citing images:
Unfortunately, many scientific publishers require a permission even in cases where the citation right of the Finnish Copyright Act would apply. Please find more about the publishers and the permission required: