Privacy & Intellectual Property Issues

Privacy and intellectual property issues are often more prominent in video conferenced meetings and lectures because:

1. Conference conveynors can request that the conference be recorded, and this might be done without the knowledge of all or some of the participants. The recording might be seen by others later. The recording might be watched by non-authorised persons, or for non-authorised purposes, or for different purposes than the participants expected.
2. During any video conference, the presenter might not know who is watching at the remote sites or what the remote sites are. There is also a higher risk of unauthorised persons watching.

For these reasons it is especially important to follow the normal rule that patients/persons not be able to be identified by their name or photos.

Presenters should ensure that the authorisation they have gained from patients/persons for their image or property to be shown in a lecture encompasses the authorisation for it to be shown during a video conference, and recorded, and for that recording to be used later. For the protection of the University such authorisation should be obtained in writing.

If a lecturer does not want their lecture video conferenced or recorded they should solve this issue beforehand with the University/Medical School and advise the conference conveynor, organiser, and USyd Video Conferencing at avit@med.usyd.edu.au.

All those involved in the conference should be advised that the event is being video conferencing and if it is being recorded.

Note: The information in this page has not been authorised by the University/Medical School, and as such should not be relied upon as formal advice or policy.