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Copyright

This guide provides information to Capilano University employees and students regarding copyright, licence agreements, and related topics. This guide does not provide legal advice.

Fair dealing

CapU's Copyright Policy B.601 states that application of fair dealing will be governed by the Universities Canada Fair Dealing Policy for Universities.

The fair dealing provision in the Copyright Act permits use of a copyright-protected work without permission from the copyright owner or the payment of copyright royalties.

Is it fair?

To qualify for fair dealing, two tests must be passed.

First, the "dealing" must be for a purpose stated in the Copyright Act: research, private study, criticism, review, news reporting, education, satire, and parody. Educational use of a copyright-protected work passes the first test.

The second test is that the dealing must be "fair." In landmark decisions in 2004 and in 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada provided guidance as to what this test means in schools and post-secondary educational institutions.

There are six points of fair dealing to consider, the first point MUST be met prior to considering the subsequent points:

  • Purpose: Is the purpose allowed under the Copyright Act’s fair dealing exception? Is it for research, private study, education, parody or satire, criticism or review, or news reporting?
  • Character: Is the character of the dealing a single copy or multiple copies?
  • Amount: How much of the copyright work is being used?
  • Alternatives: Is there a reasonable alternative to making a copy?
  • Nature: Is the work published, unpublished, confidential, etc.?
  • Effect: What is the economic effect of copying the work? Will the copy of the work compete with the original work?

Fair Dealing Guidelines

From Universities Canada Fair Dealing Policy for Universities:

1. Teachers, instructors, professors and staff members in non-profit universities may communicate and reproduce, in paper or electronic form, short excerpts from a copyright-protected work for the purposes of research, private study, criticism, review, news reporting, education, satire or parody.

2. Copying or communicating short excerpts from a copyright-protected work under this Fair Dealing Policy for the purpose of news reporting, criticism or review must mention the source and, if given in the source, the name of the author or creator of the work.

3. A copy of a short excerpt from a copyright-protected work may be provided or communicated to each student enrolled in a class or course:

(a) as a class handout

(b) as a posting to a learning or course management system that is password protected or otherwise restricted to students of the university

(c) as part of a course pack

4. A short excerpt means:

(a) up to 10% of a copyright-protected work (including a literary work, musical score, sound recording, and an audiovisual work)

(b) one chapter from a book

(c) a single article from a periodical

(d) an entire artistic work (including a painting, print, photograph, diagram, drawing, map, chart, and plan) from a copyright-protected work containing other artistic works

(e) an entire newspaper article or page

(f) an entire single poem or musical score from a copyright-protected work containing other poems or musical scores

(g) an entire entry from an encyclopedia, annotated bibliography, dictionary or similar reference work

provided that in each case, no more of the work is copied than is required in order to achieve the allowable purpose.

5. Copying or communicating multiple short excerpts from the same copyright­-protected work, with the intention of copying or communicating substantially the entire work, is prohibited.

6. Copying or communicating that exceeds the limits in this Fair Dealing Policy may be referred to a supervisor or other person designated by the university for evaluation. An evaluation of whether the proposed copying or communication is permitted under fair dealing will be made based on all relevant circumstances.

7. Any fee charged by the university for communicating or copying a short excerpt from a copyright-protected work must be intended to cover only the costs of the university, including overhead costs.