Before using generative AI to summarise or transform database content, check the licence to ensure AI use is permitted. Licence terms vary between database providers.

UWA Library-subscribed databases are dictated by license agreements, which determine how content from these databases can be used. License terms vary by provider; some may permit limited use of their content for educational purposes within closed or enterprise Gen AI tools (such as CoPilot), while others completely prohibit the use of their content in Gen AI tools.

To check whether you can use generative AI to summarise or transform database content (such as a journal article), you will need to read the license terms.

Watch the short, soundless video below for a tutorial on how to find the license agreement for an academic database, or click here to download a screen-readable description of the video in MS Word. 

What if there's no mention of AI in the license terms? 

• If Artificial Intelligence is not mentioned in the OneSearch license summary, look for the ‘Text Data Mining’ section; if ‘Text Data Mining’ is ‘not permitted’ then you cannot use content from that database in a Gen AI tool.
• Refer to the terms & conditions within the database platform. You’ll generally find a link to the database terms & conditions in the footer of the webpage.
• If there is no mention of artificial intelligence in either the OneSearch license summary or the database terms & conditions, you can use content from the database in a closed Gen AI tool – such as UWA's Enterprise CoPilot Chat – in line with the Educational Statutory Licence limits outlined on the Copyright and Teaching webpage (generally one chapter from a book, or one article from a journal).

Still unsure? 
For queries regarding using database content in Gen AI tools please contact the Library.