This page explains how copyright applies to your thesis. It covers who owns the copyright in your work and how to use material created by others. It also links to guidance to help you understand your rights and responsibilities.
On this page:
- Who owns the copyright in your thesis
- When you may not own the copyright
- Using other people’s work
- Further help and support
Who owns the copyright in your thesis
Usually, you will own the copyright to your thesis because you wrote it. You do not need to register copyright – it applies automatically.
You may wish to include a copyright notice in your thesis. For example, “Copyright © 2025 Your Name.”
There are some exceptions. In some situations, someone else may own the copyright in your thesis.
When you may not own the copyright
Someone else may own the copyright in your thesis if:
- you are funded by a third party and your funding agreement says the funder owns any intellectual property, or
- you are working on a sponsored research project and the sponsor owns any resulting intellectual property, or
- you are working with others and create intellectual property jointly or dependently. In this case, the University may own the rights or require that results are made public.
Speak to your supervisor or department early on if any of these apply to you. You should understand who will own the copyright before starting your research.
Using other people's work
You need to consider and follow copyright law if you want to include work by others in your thesis. This includes:
- quotes from books, articles, newspapers or websites
- images, figures, charts or tables
- poems, song lyrics, films, sound recordings, software or adverts
- photographs
- unpublished work, such as letters or dissertations
Learn more about using other people’s material in your work.
Further help and support
If you have questions, or need advice on thesis copyright, please contact the Thesis team.