Cours : FAQ Copyright, Creative Commons & OER | Moodle ZHAW

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    • Copyright in Switzerland (URG)

      Even if the works are found freely online, they are generally copyright protected and cannot be used without further ado. A label like the © symbol or a text note such as “All rights reserved” is not needed to indicate that the content is protected.

      Art. 19 URG defines exceptions that allow the use of protected works, which are:

      • the personal use (passing on among friends and family),
      • use by a teacher and the class for educational purposes
      • and internal use in a company or institution for internal information and documentation.

      Thus, restrictions must be observed, especially upon publishing the materials, for example:

      • at conferences
      • in MOOCs on edX or Swiss MOOC Service
      • in videos for YouTube or Kaltura Mediaspace
      • in academic publications or theses or
      • on social media and blogs.

      In case of a broader audience, only use:

      • materials whose use is expressly permitted by open licences, for example via Creative Commons licences,
      • materials from the public domain (e.g. 70 years after the death of the author),
      • your own materials,
      • materials for which the author has provided you with written permission to use.

      See also: Swiss Copyright Act (CopA)

      Under CopA Art. 2(1), material is deemed to be protected if it:
      • is the intellectual creation of an individual,
      • exhibits an original character, and
      • is expressed in a work.


      Pursuant to CopA Art. 2(2), such materials thus include written works, musical pieces, images, plans and maps as well as photographic and cinematographic works. Materials that are not considered protected works in a legal sense and are thus not copyright protected include:

      • images generated by machines or computers, such as surveillance camera recordings,
      • legal texts, minutes issued by authorities and templates for business letters and
      • ideas that are not expressed in a work.

      If a work that you would like to use is not covered by an open licence (e.g. a Creative Commons licence), ask the author (or the rights holder) for their consent where appropriate. When doing so, go into as much detail as possible about the planned use.
      To ensure you can prove the issuing of consent, you should permanently archive the relevant correspondence. If you do not receive consent, you can look for an alternative that is available under an open licence.

      See also: Where can I find openly licensed materials?
      See also: Which special rules apply to teaching at universities?

      The Swiss Copyright Act ( CopA) contains a so-called limitation and exception provision for use with a class in educational contexts (CopA Art. 19(1)(b)). This also applies to closed Moodle courses. While you can provide and use excerpts of copyright protected works, the provision of entire works (e.g. whole books or films) is also prohibited here.

      As soon as a classroom setting does not exist, for example if you want to use material as part of a university-wide Moodle course as well as in MOOCs, at conferences and at public lectures, you must adhere to the restrictions that apply to copyright protected works in general.

      In these contexts, use exclusively:
      • Openly licensed materials, e.g. under Creative Commons licenses.
      • Public domain materials (70 years after the death of the creators), or
      • materials for which you have obtained personal permission from the authors.
      • Citing works in publicly available educational materials is also allowed (see below).

      Under the Swiss Copyright Act, images, films and audio material may be cited in the same way as written texts. However, the right of quotation (CopA Art. 25) requires that the content of the material is dealt with in depth.
      • A quotation exists if the foreign work serves to illustrate or explain your own statements. A genuine reference between the cited work and your explanatory text is necessary. Pictures for decoration or as a substitute for own material do not fulfill this criterion.
      • The extent of the representation must correspond to the purpose of the citation. Only as much external material may be used as is necessary to illustrate/explain your own statement.
      • Furthermore, the identification of the source is obligatory. As with citing texts, name the original source with the cited image, video or audio contribution.

      The © symbol is an international symbol that is used in connection with copyright protected works. It indicates a work’s copyright holder.
      However, there is no requirement to use the © symbol. Copyright applies to a work as soon as it is created. Registration or other formalities, such as the use of the © symbol or “All rights reserved”, are not required.
      All works that can be freely found online and that are not covered under an open licence, such as a Creative Commons licence, are therefore copyright protected.

      Under CopA Art. 29(2), a work’s copyright protection expires 70 years after the death of the author.

      There are two exceptions: for software (50 years after the death of the author) and for photographic works without an individual character (50 years after the work was created). These photographs would include, for example, snapshots, vacation photos, etc. taken by non-professionals.

      Works for which copyright has expired (in Switzerland, 70 years after the death of the author), are deemed to be in the public domain (see CopA Art. 29).
      You are permitted to use, change and distribute these works even if no licence or public domain mark is attached.

      Copyright is divided into moral rights and rights of use.
      • The moral rights remain with you: you decide on initial publication and your name must be stated in connection with the work.
      • The rights of use for copyright protected works that university employees have created in performing their official duties lie with the university in accordance with the FaHG law governing the Zurich universities of applied sciences and arts §16 a. (1).
        If you would like to use your own materials in another context outside of your teaching activities at the ZHAW, you can publish these (with consent) in accordance with the ZHAW Open Educational Resources (OER) Policy under an open licence (see details in a separate section, below).
        Or you can have the rights of use for the material transferred to you using the relevant form (ZHAW intranet, in German only).
      • For students is worth noting that, assignments and theses written in class at the ZHAW and/or supervised by ZHAW faculty are subject to the study program regulations or examination regulations. For the publication of these works, you need the consent of your lecturer.

      If you would like to use your teaching materials in another context outside of your teaching activities at the ZHAW, you have two options:
      1. Publication under an open license like Creative Commons (see details in a separate section): Obtain the consent of your line managers. For reasons of proof, you should keep the written confirmation of consent (e.g. e-mail). You can use your material under Creative Commens-licenses in any context.
      2. Have the rights of use transferred from the ZHAW to you: If you opt against open licensing, you can request that the rights of use for the material be transferred to you: Transfer agreement for rights of use in the GPM portal (Intranet, in German only).

      Take the warning seriously – provided it relates to a work that you have actually used. However, do not sign any cease-and-desist declarations, pay a contractual penalty or agree to a settlement without further ado. Firstly, check whether the accusation of a copyright infringement is actually justified.

      If possible, remove the content in question from the network and seek legal advice if you can.

      In connection with works that are created as part of your employment relationship at the ZHAW, it is best to consult the ZHAW Legal Service (intranet page available in German only).

      Find more information in the FAQs of CCdigitallaw.ch (Question 2.2.8-1).

    • Certain Types of Materials

      In the Colourbox and Adobe Stock image databases, you will find professional photos that you may use in connection with your work at the ZHAW. Please find further details in the intranet under: Instructions and information about Colourbox and Adobe Stock (in German only).

      Please note: If you want to publish your material under a Creative Commons license as OER - Open Educational Resource, you cannot use images from Adobe Stock or Colourbox. Images from Adobe Stock and Colourbox may not be released for redistribution by third parties.

      Many image databases with free images publish their materials under their own licence (e.g. Pixabay, Unsplash, or Pexels).

      Even if the licenses of these image databases, like CC0-licensed images, do not require attribution / naming of the authors, it is still advisable to indicate the origin and link to the original.
      • This way you can prove the origin of the material when you receive a warning.
      • You do not make the image material your own by passing it on under your own name.

      On YouTube, video uploaders can decide whether they allow embedding. If the embed code for a video can be downloaded, the uploaders have allowed the video in question to be embedded.

      However, downloading and distributing a copy of the video is not permitted, as it would then be distributed regardless of deletion of the original on YouTube and is no longer solely within the control of the creator.

      Good to know: YouTube also contains videos under a Creative Commons license that allow re-use more broadly. You can find the license information in the description of the video under “More”. A filter function above the results list allows you to filter for “Creative Commons”-licensed videos.

      Embedding videos from other platforms than YouTube has not yet been legally clarified in Switzerland, which is why it is recommended that you only link to these videos.

      According to CopA Art. 2, Swiss copyright law protects only intellectual creations (by persons). Content generated solely by AI is not protected by copyright. However, the material may have some overlap with existing copyright protected materials with which the AI tool has been trained. Also, the tools' terms and conditions may state that the content may not be shared publicly.
      • If possible, ask the AI to state the sources. Check whether and how closely the content is modeled on human intellectual creations, which themselves may be copyrighted.
      • Check whether the tool's terms and conditions prohibit public sharing.
      • Indicate the provenance by including the name of the AI tool and the date.
        For example: AI generated image, created with DALL-E on January 9th, 2025.
      The information is based on the article "KI und OER: Wie gut passen sie zusammen?" by Georg Fischer, iRights.info for OERinfo (19. April 2023) under CC BY 4.0 (in German).

      Only the work is protected by copyright, not the idea. You may therefore make your own images that are inspired by other works.

      It is important though, that your work is not a pure copy, i.e. that the original is not directly recognizable in the new work. Better put away the original and create the model or image anew from your own imagination and use your creativity.

      Where there is little room for originality (for example, in an anatomical drawing), it is quicker to assume that you have moved sufficiently far from the original image. However, anything like just changing the color is usually not enough.

      In a scientific context, it is necessary to name the original source, e.g.: Own work based on XY (year) and the full details of the source in the reference list.

      It is also possible to cite images, provided that they serve to illustrate and explain your own statement (see above). In this case, you would not have to reproduce the image, but could use the original image directly.

      Steinhau from irights.info writes in his blog post "Darf man Logos und Marken von Firmen in (freien) Bildungsmedien verwenden? Markenrecht und worauf bei der Verwendung zu achten ist", (German) that logos and brands underly the trademark law, and are usually not under copyright protection. Logos may be depicted (even in openly licensed material) if you don't give the impression that the trademark owners issued or initiated the material.

      Add a disclaimer when using logos or depicting trademarks, as indicated in the Information sheet on CC licences and publishing open educational resources (OER) at the ZHAW. This also applies to the use of the trademark and logo of ZHAW.

      Source: Steinhau, Henry (2019). Darf man Logos und Marken von Firmen in (freien) Bildungsmedien verwenden? Markenrecht und worauf bei der Verwendung zu achten ist, retrievved on January 09, 2025, under CC BY 4.0.

      Usually, you would quote data, tables, graphs or diagrams by discussing them in your work and referring to them directly. This is allowed according to the citation law (see above).

      If you do not cite, the following applies:

      • Numerical data are not protected by copyright. Only the way of visualizing e.g. a table, a diagram, etc. can be considered an intellectual creation if it has an individual character. Graphs or diagrams created automatically by software, which do not show a special level of creation in the design by a human being, are not subject to copyright.
      • If in doubt, create your own table with the data in question or generate your own graphs or charts from the data.
      • In a scientific context, it is necessary to refer to the original source, e.g.: Own work based on XY (year) and naming the full source in the reference list.

      Good to know: Data, too, can be published under open licenses such as the Creative Commons - or in publications that are under such a license. Check this and use the data in accordance with the license.

      Websites are protected by copyright if they have a certain level of individuality, e.g. if special creative elements such as images and designs are used. In that case, it is not allowed to publish a copy of the website / a screenshot.

      However, Steinhau (2020) states that user interfaces of operating systems and apps contain many design elements, such as navigation bars, icons, pictograms, emoticons, etc. According to Steinhau (2020) small-scale graphic designs and pictographic elements of user interfaces are usually not subject to copyright protection. That means screenshots of such user interfaces, along with their icons, navigation, and functional elements, can be used for publication.

      When in doubt:

      • As with all copyrighted works, you have the right to cite screenshots and to use them for personal use and in classroom settings (see above).
      • Pay special attention to images of people, which are under protection beyond copyright. Cut them out of the screenshot, when making it available to a broader audience.
      • In some cases, entire pages are under a Creative Commons license, e.g. Wikipedia or various blogs. The license information can usually be found at the bottom of the page. Examples: Wikipedia, website "Code4You", blog "Open Ed"
      • Alternatively, you can obtain a written consent from website owners. Describe the use of the screenshots as precisely as possible and keep the consent for evidence.

      Steinhau, Henry (2020). Screenshots richtig nutzen, retrieved on January 09, 2025, under CC BY 4.0 (in German).

      In the case of map providers such as Google Maps, it is argued that the necessary degree of originality is achieved through the elaborate processing - and thus online maps are usually copyright-protected.

      An alternative to commercial portals is Open Street Map, which is offered under an Open Data Commons Open Database License (ODbL) v1.0 (retrieved 01/09/2025).

      For mere outlines of a country or continent, it can be assumed that there is no level of originality and that these are not protected by copyright.

      With satellite images, the decisive factor is whether they are triggered automatically by the device (not protected by copyright, since it is not the work of a human being) or whether a human being controls and triggers the recording (then it would be protected, analog to any photograph). In general, this cannot be recognized from the images.
      However, NASA and other publicly funded institutions make some of their materials available for public distribution and use (see: NASA Media Usage Guidelines).

    • The Swiss Copyright Act contains a so-called limitation and exception provision for teaching in classroom settings (CopA Art. 19(1)(b)). This also applies to closed Moodle courses.

      While you can provide and use parts of copyright protected works, the provision of entire works (e.g. whole books or films) is also prohibited here, as long as they are available for sale.

      As soon as you leave the closed classroom setting, for example by offering a university-wide or publicly accessible Moodle course or a MOOC, at conferences and at public lectures, you must adhere to the restrictions that apply to copyrighted works in general (see above).

      It is only permitted to open up Moodle courses for self enrollment under the following conditions.

      • It is not permitted to use any (copyright) protected third-party materials. Instead, only self-produced materials, materials under Creative Commons licenses or in the public domain, materials for which you have the consent of the authors, and citations may be used.
      • Do not include any personal data without consent of the persons in question.
      • It is not permitted to include any other protected data (for example: data that falls under the scope of a confidentiality agreement of an external partner).

      See information sheet on the use of copyright protected material in online teaching (in German only)

      Book chapters and journal articles may be uploaded to closed Moodle courses for a specific class. They are regarded as parts of a complete work, e.g. an entire book or journal.

      • Works available for sale (e.g. books, films) can only be made available on Moodle in parts, not as a whole.
      • Name the full reference to the work within the Moodle course.

      See information sheet “Use of copyright protected material in online teaching” (in German only)

      The Moodle course must be protected using one of the following enrollment methods:
      • Manual enrollment,
      • Self-enrollment with password,
      • Evento (user synchronization of course participants with Evento).

      Guest access of the Moodle course must be disabled.

      See information sheet “Use of copyright protected material in online teaching” (in German only)

    • CC licences from CreativeCommons.org are open licences with which authors grant users the right to
      • reproduce
      • use
      • adapt*
      • mix* and
      • distribute works at no cost.
      CC-licensed materials are also copyright protected. The conditions specified in the licence texts must therefore be complied with. Such conditions include naming
      • the title with a link to the original,
      • the author and
      • the licence with a link to the licence text (see below).
      Video: Using images under a free licence – common errors and how to avoid them (in German only)
      Does not apply to works that have ND (no derivatives) in the licence designation.

      CC 0 Icon

      CC0
      No copyright attribution requirement
      Allowed: adaptations, commercial use
      CC BY Icon

      CC BY 4.0
      Requirement: copyright attribution
      Allowed: adaptations, commercial use
      CC BY-SA Icon

      CC BY-SA 4.0 (share alike)
      Copyright attribution, provision under same licence (CC-BY-SA)
      Allowed: adaptations, commercial use
      CC BY-NC Icon

      CC BY-NC 4.0 (non-commercial)
      Copyright attribution, no commercial use allowed
      Allowed: adaptations
      CC BY-NC-SA Icon

      CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
      Copyright attribution, no commercial use allowed, provision under same licence (CC-BY-NC-SA)
      Allowed: adaptations
      CC BY-ND Icon

      CC BY-ND 4.0 (No Derivatives)
      Copyright attribution, no adaptations
      Allowed: commercial use

      CC BY-NC-ND Icon

      CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
      Copyright attribution, no adaptations, no commercial use
      In the ZHAW Open Educational Resources (OER) Policy, the publishing of materials under CC-BY or CC-BY-SA is recommended, as these represent open educational resources.

      Even if works are found freely online, they are generally copyright protected and cannot be distributed without the consent of the authors. (A label like the © symbol or a text note such as “All rights reserved” is not needed to indicate that the content is protected.)
      Open licences allow for the use, adaptation and distribution of copyright protected material without having to check with the authors. This is particularly crucial if you want to publish your materials, for example:
      • at conferences
      • in MOOCs on edX or Swiss MOOC Service
      • in videos for YouTube or Kaltura Mediaspace
      • in academic publications or theses or
      • on social media and blogs.

      Switch OER is a portal for OER materials of Swiss higher education insitutions, which was launched in 2024. All ZHAW OER materials can be found on Switch OER.

      Educational materials from all German-speaking countries can be found at oersi.org.

      CreativeCommons lists further search tools for various types of media such as images, icons, videos, audio, courses and other educational materials.

      Which CC licences you are allowed to combine in a work depends on whether the works remain clearly distinguishable from one another or are inseparably merged to produce a new work. A differentiation is made between the following:

      1 a) Compilation of third-party materials
      • Several CC-licensed works are compiled in a collection in which they are clearly distinguished from each other and published (e.g. as a reader).
      • The compilation does not get its own licence.
      • You are allowed to combine all CC licences.
      1 b) Integration of materials within your own contents
      • You integrate CC-licensed works in your own contents in a clearly distinguishable manner (e.g. as part of a PowerPoint presentation).
      • Your work is given a licence of your choice or no licence.
      • You are allowed to combine all CC licences.
      2. Merging
      • CC-licensed works are merged to create a new complete work in which the individual components can no longer be distinguished (e.g. in a video).
      • Not all CC-licensed materials can be combined.
      • It is not permitted to use CC-BY-ND materials.
      • The licence for the complete work is based on the licence of the included work with the strongest restriction (combination of CC-BY and CC-BY-SA: the new work is assigned a CC-BY-SA licence).
        See also the licence compatibility chart

      To comply with the licensing requirements of CC-BY licences, attribute the used materials according to the TULLU rule (referred to as TALLO in English). Include the:
      • Title
      • Author
      • Licence
      • Link to the licence
      • Origin (link)
      • (Adaptations you have made).
      Example:
      How to read an academic journal article? by Charlotte Hartwright (as at 5 April 2017) under CC BY 4.0, video shortened and adapted with interactive content by Pascal Meier / ZHAW, Social Work (as at January 10, 2025)

      Wherever possible, place the licence designation directly at the materials used (e.g., underneath the image). If this isn’t possible, the reference should be made as close to the work as possible (e.g., attribution list at the end of a video). The order in which the details are entered does not matter. Citations in academic texts can, for example, also follow common citation styles if all of the aforementioned details are provided in the citation. Further information: Information sheet on CC licences and publishing OER at the ZHAW. See also the "Best practices for attribution" page for further details.

      TALLO refers to a rule for the labelling of openly licensed works as follows:

      T: Title
      A: Author
      L: Licence
      L: Link to the licence text
      O: Origin (link)

      Where possible, also state:
      • date of publication of the original
      • (Type and date of the adaptations you have made).
      Example: How to read an academic journal article? by Charlotte Hartwright (as at 5 April 2017) under CC BY 4.0, video shortened and adapted with interactive content by Pascal Meier / ZHAW, Social Work (as at January 10, 2025)

      The order in which the details are entered does not matter. Citations in academic texts can, for example, also follow common citation styles if all of the aforementioned details are provided in the citation.

      The order in which you provide the information does not matter. Citations in academic texts can, for example, also follow common citation styles if all of the elements required under the TALLO rule are provided in the citation:

      T: Title
      A: Author
      L: Licence
      L: Link to the licence text
      O: Origin (link).

      CC0 licences and other licences of free image databases like Pixabay, Pexels, or Unsplash do not require copyright attribution. Nevertheless, it is advisable to name the source and a link to the original.
      • This way, you can prove the origin of the material in case a warning.
      • You do not make the third-party material your own by circulating it under your own name.

      The license condition "Non Commercial" is not as easy at it looks at first glance.
      Avoid applying this license module for your own materials and avoid using NC-licensed material from third parties for your own work. The NC module of the Creative Commons license not only prohibits selling the work, but also raising any monetary compensation with it.

      This concerens:
      • MOOCs that offer a paid certificate.
      • Platforms that are themselves commercial or advertise (such as YouTube or blogs).
      See also: Klimpel, Paul (2012). Freies Wissen dank Creative-Commons-Lizenzen: Folgen, Risiken und Nebenwirkungen der Bedingung "nicht-kommerziell – NC" (German-language paper on Creative Commons licences that looks at the consequences, risks and side-effects of an NC licence designation) or read section "NC - Non commercial" at "5b.1.2 What are the individual elements of Creative Commons licences?" page provided by CCdigitallaw.ch.
      Good to know: From a copyright point of view, continuing education at the ZHAW falls under the exception for the use in the classroom (CopA Art. 19(1)b). Thus, parts of works with all rights reserved may be used there, just as parts of works under any Creative Commons license.

      The ZHAW Open Educational Resources (OER) Policy recommends that all employees publish teaching materials under an open licence.
      Nevertheless, please consider the FaHG law governing the Zurich universities of applied sciences and arts (§16 a. (1)) in which it is specified that the rights of use for copyright protected works that you create in performing your official activities lie with the university. While the rights of use remain with the ZHAW upon publishing such a work under a CC licence, a corresponding order or permission from your line manager is still required. For reasons of proof, you should keep the written confirmation of consent (e.g. e-mail).

      Please also be sure to consider the personal rights of the depicted individuals who must provide their written consent to publication under a CC licence.

      The ZHAW Open Educational Resources (OER) Policy recommends licensing under: If you would like to specify further restrictions (non-commercial, no adaptation), use the CC licence chooser to determine your licence. The license chooser guides you step by step through queries to the right Creative Commons license for your needs.

      You can then download the Creative Commons license icon and apply it to your work. This alone is needed to put the work under a Creative Commons license and thus publish it as OER. It is not necessary to register your work with Creative Commons or anything the like. The use of Creative Commons licenses is free of charge.

      The use of CC licenses is free of charge. There is also no need to register or upload the material to Creative Commons. You just need to embed the icon of the corresponding license and link to the license text.

      At the beginning or end of your work, include the following:
      • The licence icon – with a link to the licence text
        Download CC icons or
        Download and integrate HTML code from the license chooser for mashine readability .
      • The licence designation – with a link to the licence text or written out URL,
        e.g. "Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC-BY 4.0".
      • Your name as it shall be stated at re-use (ideally with your institution)
      • Date of publication of your work.
      Place the license in the work itself, e.g. at the beginning of the video the licence icon and at the end of the video the full credit, not just on the platform itself where you upload the work. For a podcast a spoken license statement can be included at the beginning. This way, the license is included when third parties download and use your work.

      Where it is not possible to place the license directly in the work, e.g. in the case of images, it should be located as close to the work as possible.

      For more information, please see:Information sheet onCC licences and publishing open educationalresources (OER) at the ZHAW

      You can download all CC icons here free of charge and without having to register and subsequently use them.

      If you have the option to integrate an HTML code into your work (e.g. in a website, a blog or on Github etc.), download and integrate the CC icon as HTML code from the license chooser for machine readability.

      A licence cannot be revoked if a work has already been distributed by others under this licence.
      Even if you would like to remove a licence or remove CC-licensed material from the network, the licence remains valid in the material that has already been distributed by others. This means that a CC-licensed work can continue to be distributed in the network even after having been removed from the network by the author.

      If you distribute materials yourself that are under a CC licence, you cannot subsequently be prohibited from making use of these.

      CC-licensed works remain copyright protected. They may only be distributed within the scope of the licence conditions. This means, for example, that correct attribution is required for the use of CC-licensed works.

      Always adhere to the licence requirements in order to ensure you do not breach copyright when using CC-licensed material.

      Video: Using images under a free licence – common errors and how to avoid them (in German only)

    • OER are open educational resources that are deliberately made open by the author and furnished with certain rights of use (so-called licences) in order to allow for the simple use, further processing and publication of educational materials. Open educational resources include, for example, all types of course materials, texts, images, audio content, videos, educational software and complete course units.

      See also the UNESCO definition.

      OER are seen as having great potential in the area of university teaching, for example in supporting methodological-didactic approaches as well as in updating and further developing standardised and rapidly changing educational content and even in supporting individual teaching-learning processes.

      OER are educational resources that can be openly used, adapted and republished – for any purpose. Creative Commons licences, especially CC0, CC-BY and CC-BY-SA licences, allow this type of subsequent use.

      The CC licence represents permission for the free use of copyright protected works under the conditions of the respective licence. It is not required to obtain separate permission from the authors or to conclude an individual agreement.

      You can also find answers to many of the questions you have about OER in the “Creative Commons licences” section of this FAQ list.

      In the ZHAW Open Educational Resources (OER) Policy, ZHAW staff and students are expressly called on to publish their materials as OERs under a CC-BY or CC-BY-SA licence.

      The e-learning strategies of individual Schools also support the publication of OERs, for example the

      However, please note that under the FaHG law governing the Zurich universities of applied sciences and arts (§16 a. (1)) you require the approval of your line managers, as the usage rights for works that you create in performing your official duties lie with the ZHAW.

      At the ZHAW, there is an OER community with a TEAMS channel for self-registration. Members share their OER, their experience with OER projects, and questions as well as news related to OER. Furthermore, there are networking events with presentations, discussions, and good practices.

      All of ZHAW staff is welcome to join the OER community.

      Switch OER, the portal for OER from Swiss higher education institutions, includes open educational materials from all subject areas, languages and media types. The aim is to create a central collection of OER from ZHAW and other participating institutions.

      Log in to Switch OER with your Switch edu-ID and upload your material. You can also link to OER that you published on other platforms.

      If you have any questions about Switch OER, please contact us at oer.hsb@zhaw.ch.

      Switch OER is the portal for OER from Swiss higher education institutions. It was launched in 2024 by the ZHAW together with Switch and other Swiss universities.

      The aim of Switch OER is to create a central collection of OER from the Swiss higher education landscape. It covers open educational materials from all subject areas, languages, and media types.

      Log in to Switch OER with your Switch edu-ID and upload your material. You can also link to OER that you published on other platforms.
      If you have any questions about Switch OER, please contact us at oer.hsb@zhaw.ch.

      Copyright is divided into moral rights and rights of use.The moral rights remain unchanged with you, even if you publish your work under a CC licence: you decide on initial publication and your name must be stated in connection with the work.The rights of use for copyright protected works that university employees have created in performing their official duties lie with the university in accordance with the FaHG law governing the Zurich universities of applied sciences and arts §16 a. (1)).
      If you would like to publish your materials in accordance with the ZHAW Open Educational Resources (OER) Policy under an open licence, you must obtain approval from your line managers. For reasons of proof, you should give preference to the provision of written confirmation of consent (e.g. e-mail).

      Under the FaHG law governing the Zurich universities of applied sciences and arts (§16 a. (1)), the rights of use for copyright protected works that have been created by university staff in performing their official duties lie with the university.

      Upon publishing such a work under a CC licence, the rights of use remain with the ZHAW, although not exclusively. A corresponding order or consent from your line manager is thus required. For reasons of proof, you should give preference to the provision of written confirmation of consent (e.g. e-mail).

      Be sure to always obtain the consent of each person whose face or voice you would like to publish in images, videos or audio recordings under a CC licence. Here you can find a form for requesting consent. Keep the consent for reasons of proof.
      In CC-licensed material for third parties wishing to subsequently use the material, indicate that consent has been provided. You can find a disclaimer in the Information sheet on CC licences and publishing open educationalresources (OER) at the ZHAW.

      When making use of openly licensed materials of third parties in which people are depicted, you should exercise caution. It may be the case that the affected individuals have not actually issued their consent to the open licensing and reuse of the illustrations in any context.

      The use of the ZHAW logo in materials under CC licence is permitted. Wherever possible, include a disclaimer, for example:

      • For German works: “Die Marke ZHAW ist von der vorliegenden Lizenz CC-BY 4.0 unberührt. Gemäss Abschnitt 2.b.2 der Lizenz werden Patent- und Kennzeichenrechte durch die vorliegende Public licence nicht lizenziert.”
      • For English works: “The ZHAW trademark is not affected by the CC-BY 4.0 licence. Under section 2.b.2 of the licence, patent and trademark rights are not licensed under this public licence.”

      When using intros / outros or other media elements of the Schools, make sure that it is allowed to publish these under a CC licence.

      See more in the Information sheet on CC licences and publishing open educationalresources (OER) at the ZHAW.

      The University Library’s OER team will advise you on any questions you may have about Creative Commons licences, copyright, and open educational resources (OER). We are looking forward to receiving your e-mail at: oer.hsb@zhaw.ch.

    • OER Logo Open Educational Resources.png von Markus Büsges (leomaria design) für Wikimedia Deutschland e. V., steht unter CC BY-SA 4.0