Copying published works for teaching and research
There are four considerations when copying a work for research or educational purposes. Recent changes to the Canadian Copyright Act and interpretation by the courts have made possible the copying and distributing of portions of published works to a class of students for educational purposes if the copy fits the fair dealing test below. Please refer to the following information when distributing or copying published works.
1. Licensed Resources
Generally, materials that are purchased by the University as educational resources include rights that extend beyond what is possible under the Copyright Act. For example, some textbooks include digital material for use in classroom instruction, such as graphs or figures, or access to web content. Materials identified as Creative Commons or Open Source are also considered licensed resources that permit copying or distribution beyond the limits of the Copyright Act. Publishers and creators will generally make this very clear: if you are in doubt, contact the copyright owner. The umbrella term "e-Resource" is used to describe electronic resources accessed from UNB Libraries’ website (i.e. e-Journals, e-books, ARTstor). These licensed resources allow for the distribution of materials to students and can be delivered by means such as Desire2Learn, RefWorks, or eReserves. Although some agreements include the right to distribute downloaded copies of the article (i.e. in pdf format), many publishers consider this type of distribution to be a violation of the license. This concern can be avoided by providing access to UNB Libraries’ e-Resources by linking to the specific material.
2. Fair Dealing
For the purpose of research, private study, criticism or review, and news reporting, it is not an infringement of copyright to deal “fairly” with published works. To determine if you have “fairly” used the published works of others, you must consider six factors:
- Purpose: is the copying for research, private study, criticism or review, news reporting, education, satire or parody? If “yes,” continue with the next five factors. If “no,” the dealing is not fair.
- Character: what is the intended use of the copy? For example, single copies are considered fairer than multiple copies; placing copies on eReserve or D2L would be considered more fair.
- Amount: a larger volume of copying is considered less fair. However, it is important to note that in many circumstances it is necessary to copy entire works, such as photos, if they meet the remainder of the tests.
- Alternatives: are there other non-copyrighted works available that would have served the same purpose, and was the copy necessary to achieve the purpose of the copy?
- Nature: is the work published and widely available? If the work is not published, then it is more likely to be considered fair.
- Effect: will the copy unduly affect the market value?
Specific examples of
fair dealing are:
- a copy of an article from a scientific, technical, or scholarly periodical;
- a newspaper article;
- an entry from an encyclopaedia, annotated bibliography, or similar reference material;
- a short story, play, poem, or essay from a publication containing other works.
3. Public Domain
Public domain is the term used for materials that are no longer covered by copyright law. The Canadian Copyright Act limits the term of copyright to the life of the author or creator plus fifty years. After the term of copyright expires, the work becomes public domain. This means materials in the public domain may be reproduced in any form without the permission of the copyright owner.
4. Educational Exceptions
It is not an infringement of copyright for an instructor or a person acting on his/her behalf to make a copy of a copyrighted work for the purpose of display for classroom instruction. For example, one may project an image of a copyrighted work in either electronic (e.g. PowerPoint) or similar medium for the purposes of education or training on the premises of an educational institution. However, further distribution of copyrighted material within presentations, such as PowerPoint slides posted to Desire2Learn, must meet the Fair Dealing test described above.
WEB CONTENT
Any material that is freely and legally available from the web can be used in classroom presentations. Until the changes to the Copyright Act are in force, materials used from the web for class distribution must either be free or open licensed content (e.g. Creative Commons) or must follow the limits of Fair Dealing before copying. There are no restrictions to sharing links or URLs to websites.
FAQ's
Can I provide photocopies of copyrighted material for my entire class?
Yes. Recent interpretation by the Supreme Court allows instructors or someone acting on their behalf to provide a copy of a published work according to the rules of Fair Dealing (see above) to students for educational purposes. If there is any question whether the copy is fair, contact UNB Libraries for assistance.
Can I make copies from workbooks for students?
No. Material such as workbooks, business case studies, and sheet music are considered consumables and may not be reproduced under any circumstance without the copyright owner's permission.
Can I place materials on Library Course Reserve for students?
Yes, any original material (e.g. book or journal issue) can be placed on reserve. Placing copies of reading on Library Course Reserve must not be intended to take the place of a textbook (i.e. course pack) and must meet the limits of fair dealing described above. UNB Libraries will assist in securing the necessary permissions for class distribution. If you have a prepared list or syllabus, submit this to your Liaison Librarian.
Contact
copyright@unb.ca