Copyright policy can be daunting! This page includes some handy guidelines for Universities Canada, tools, best practices, and tips. For more information on specific copyright themes, see other tabs.
If you are having difficulties with copyright for your class or there is a copyright issue or concern for which you would more information, send an email to Emily Kroeker!
Universities Canada has put together summarized guidelines to help instructors in higher education as they try to apply fair dealing exceptions. Those guidelines can be found in the link below and are recommended reading for all instructors.
As well, the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) has created a helpful "Fair Dealing Decision Tool" that you can use to walk through the fair dealing steps.
Open access is a growing field as new works are constantly being added, with increasing quality. Consider using an open access textbook in your class to help students save money while also promoting equitable access to quality materials for all!
You also own the copyright to the materials you create for your classes. Consider using an open licence and sharing the work more broadly to contribute to the growing plethora of Open Education Resources. You can use the Creative Commons "Choose a License" tool to decide which one fits best.
Remember: if you are using images and videos in your classes, you will need to make sure that the correct licencing or fair dealing (if using a small snippet of a video, etc.) applies. See the "Licencing" for more information on licences and open licences and the "Using Images, the Internet, and More" tab for more specific multimedia information.
Looking to use a youtube video in class that doesn't have an open licence or wanting to include an article/book/book chapter reading but not sure if Fair Dealing will apply? The safest way to minimize inadvertent copyright infringement is to link to the content you want to use, taking students directly to the material.
However, you need to make sure that the link posted doesn't circumvent any technological protection measures (TPMs) that the creator may have applied to the material (e.g., giving the link to a New York Times article that you have access to with a subscription and username/password but your students don't if they don't also have a subscription constitutes copyright infringement because there is a TPM).
When evaluating fairness to apply the fair dealing, use would be considered "more fair" for character and nature, if dissemination is smaller. As such, it is better to put a copy up behind digital locks such as Brightspace, which would allow only the students in the class to access the material, versus emailing a copy (which could be easily forwarded to others). However, this is only one part of the "fairness" test and all other conditions should be taken into consideration.
Fair Dealing and other copyright exceptions are not applicable if you are trying to copy and share material that is only available behind a paywall or digital lock. In order to share the material, you would need the explicit permission of the creator or publisher. This would include making a copy of a journal or newspaper article where you have a subscription but the library, institution, or your students don't. The library does have a growing collection of databases, subscriptions, and e-content. If there is something that you would like students to access, but the library does not have a licence, speak to someone at the library and we will either help you find alternatives or see if it is a resource we may want to acquire.
