Always assume a work is protected by copyright unless it clearly states otherwise.
There are particular user's rights in the Copyright Act that allow you to use copyright protected works under particular circumstances.
A user's rights in the Copyright Act that allows reuse of copyright protected works, as long as the 'dealing' is 'fair'. There are eight allowable purposes under fair dealing:
Use the Six Factor Test to determine if your 'dealing' is 'fair'.
Factor | Questions |
---|---|
1. Purpose | Is your use for one of the eight allowed purposes under fair dealing? |
2. Character | Are you creating a single copy of the work of multiple copies? |
3. Amount | How much of the original work are you copying? |
4. Alternatives | Is there a reasonable alternative to making a copy? |
5. Natures | Is the original work published, unpublished, or confidential? |
6. Effect | What is the economic effect of copying the work? Will the copy of the work compete with the original work? |
Note: a dealing does not have to satisfy all six factors to be considered fair.
A person may use an existing work which has been published or otherwise made available to the public in the creation of a new work, provided:
Copyright Act, Section 29.21
Works published under open licenses have less copyright restrictions than traditional, all-rights-reserved copyright. Creative Commons are an example of an internationally recognized open license.
Many websites now create their own licenses. Always check the terms-of-use of a website to see allowed uses of content.
The image below outlines allowed uses of Creative Commons licenses. For more information, visit: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/
'Creative Commons Licenses' by Darcye Lovsin has been adapted from Foter 'How to Attribute Creative Commons Photos' and is published under a CC-BY-SA 4.0 International License.
Note: Save the image to view it in larger format.