Summary

Studies entail coming into contact with intellectual property every day, making use of the results of other people’s creative work in the course of creating new knowledge. With the variety of materials available in digital format increasing and as e-learning gains more and more traction in practice, those participating in the learning process are showing greater readiness and desire to utilise digital learning materials. At the same time, however, the rights of the authors of the educational materials should not be forgotten.

The article examines the restrictions to copyright that permit the use of copyright-protected works for education purposes. As a rule, Estonia’s Copyright Act permits protected works to be put to personal and educational purposes, allowing copies of the works to be made and used in the study process. The implications of this are considered. Also, the authors analyse the legal consequences of copyright infringement and discuss open-access strategies that might represent opportunities for simplified access to learning materials.