The University has been advised that if the material you wish to copy is covered by some kind of contractual agreement, you must abide by the terms of that agreement.
Contractual agreements can take the form of legal documents signed by both parties but may also include the shrink-wrapped, click-on and "read me file" licences, terms and conditions and subscription agreements associated with electronic products (e.g. electronic journals available via the Internet, textbooks on CD-ROM, multimedia kits, etc).
Note that nearly all electronic products (CD-ROMs, multimedia products, ebooks, ejournals) have "contractual agreements". Many Schools also have contractual agreements with publishers covering textbook material.
Hence, before copying from any electronic product or textbook, you should look carefully to find a licence agreement and check its conditions. Make sure you comply with any conditions stated or seek permission in writing to vary them.
Many publishers of electronic products employ "web-crawler" software to detect the presence of their material on websites and will prosecute those who have made illegal copies.