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Copyright FAQs

The information on this page is designed to give basic information on copyright issues surrounding common undergraduate academic activities at SFU. It is not intended as legal advice and does not constitute a formal copyright policy. Please see Research Policy R 30 Intellectual Property.

Determining whether something is protected by Copyright

Copying material

Using multimedia material

Sharing and publishing material

Using material from other libraries or collections

Determining whether something is protected by copyright

  • How can you tell if something is protected by copyright?

The most familiar sign that something is protected by copyright is the copyright symbol: ©. However, many copyright-protected works are not accompanied by the © symbol. There may be a statement of copyright ownership in a number of different places: for example, the beginning of a book, the "about" page of a website, or in the text linked to an image. Never assume that something is not protected by copyright. See also: How do you know if something is in the public domain?

  • What kinds of property are protected by copyright?

Copyright applies to a range of intellectual property in diverse media. It applies to textual works, images, films, and more. A central principle of copyright is that it protects the fixed expression of an idea rather than the idea itself. (If you are simply looking for information on how to cite research or quotations in your course work, go to SFU Library's Writing Guides.)

For a detailed account of what can and cannot be protected by copyright, see "What is covered by copyright?" and "When copyright does not apply" in the Canadian Intellectual Property Office's A Guide to Copyrights.

  • How do you know if something is in the public domain?

Works said to be "in the public domain" are those which are not subject to copyright restrictions. If a work is in the public domain, anyone is free to publish it without liability for copyright infringement. Public-domain status grants freedom of use, not just freedom of access. It should be noted that public domain is not the default copyright status: for example, a photograph mounted online is not necessarily in the public domain, even if it is free to download.

Under current copyright law, works typically pass into the public domain fifty years after the death of the creator. However, one complicating factor is the existence of editions which may be under copyright. Thus a nineteenth-century translation of Madame Bovary may be in the public domain, but a specific edition of the same translation with a newer introduction and footnotes may be subject to copyright.

Works may also enter the public domain when the copyright owner chooses to relinquish copyright. A similar (but distinct) situation arises when advance permission is given by the copyright owner for certain kinds of uses, such as non-commercial or educational ones. For an example, see the the Earth Science World Image Bank's Image Use instructions.

  • I have been asked to pay to access or use a copy of an online resource—what should I do?

Before requesting permission to use a resource, always check whether this is necessary according to Canadian copyright law and SFU's licence with Access Copyright, which allows certain uses beyond what is permitted under the Copyright Act. Many basic personal educational uses, such as copying a journal article or one chapter of a book, are allowed. For more details on what is and isn't allowed see Access Copyright's Information for students.

In many other cases, you can use a copyrighted online resource, such as a photograph from a commercial website, but will need to seek permission. In some of these cases, the copyright holder will charge you for permission to use their intellectual property in a certain way. However, before requesting permission to use an item (or paying simply to access it), be sure to check whether you can access it through SFU Library's subscription databases which give advance permission for educational use.

If you do need to request permission, look for instructions on the website that published the item. Generally your request should indicate which item you are interested in and how you intend to use it.

It is the responsibility of the student to determine if permission or payment is required to use a resource in a particular way. For instance, if you would like to adapt or modify a photograph, you will need to seek permission for that use even if permission is granted in advance to distribute the photograph. It is best to perform this step in the early stages of research in case permission cannot be obtained or is too expensive. If you are unsure, ask a librarian.

Copying material

  • Under Canadian copyright law, which documents may I copy?

You may copy documents that you are using for a limited set of purposes that have been stipulated by copyright law. The Copyright Act refers to an exemption known as "fair dealing." However, currently there is debate over how reliable a defence it is against charges of copyright infringement.

According to the Act's wording, the question is not so much what you can copy as for what purpose or in which situation you may do so. Fair dealing applies to copying for these purposes, and these purposes only: research, private study, criticism, review, or news reporting. However, the definitions of these categories are not always obvious, and the growing number of ways in which people are using information online is further troubling these definitions. A good rule of thumb in deciding whether you are engaged in fair dealing is to distinguish private study from activities that could be conceived of as publishing--for example, posting a substantial portion of a work on a blog or including it in a powerpoint presentation mounted on a website.

  • Can I photocopy an entire book? What about an entire issue of a journal?

Unless it is in the public domain, no. Even with the advance permission acquired through SFU's licence with Access Copyright, you are only allowed to copy limited portions of printed works. Some common documents you have permission to copy are a single article in a journal, one chapter in a book, one short story, and one artisitic work printed in a book or journal containing other works. For a complete list, see Access Copyright's Information for students.

  • Can I photocopy sheet music?

Unless it is in the public domain, no. Music in printed form is excluded from SFU's licence with Access Copyright. For other excluded works see Access Copyright's Copying Guidelines.

  • Can I use a scanner to make an electronic copy of an article or chapter in a book?

The important criterion is how you use the item. The fair dealing exemption in the Copyright Act would probably cover making a personal copy for study. It does not cover scanning the article and then posting it online or distributing it by email.

Using multimedia material

  • Do I need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder of every image I use in an assignment?

The answer depends on exactly how you are using the image. For an assignment that will not be distributed, fair dealing would seem to apply. If your assignment involves mounting the image on the web or in a public place, or if you plan to alter the image, then it is a good idea to seek permission from the copyright owner. Fortunately, many images are available to you with advance permission for educational use through SFU Library's database subscriptions. In dealing with other online images, look for a section describing usage rights--many sites grant advance permission for non-commercial distribution. For more information, see Images and Copyright in SFU Library's guide to Finding and Using Online Images.

  • Which audio-visual materials can I use in a class presentation?

All items in the Media Resource Centre, The New Media Collection at Surrey, and Belzberg Library that are licensed for non-theatrical public performance use at Simon Fraser University may be booked for classroom viewing by SFU faculty, instructors and students at the Burnaby, Harbour Centre and Surrey campuses. Home-use videos and DVDs in the collection are not bookable for use in the classroom. Some Surrey Library materials may be restricted for use at the Surrey campus. To book an item or enquire about licensing, email media@sfu.ca or see the Film Bookings guide. Also see the guidelines on streaming media below.

  • Can I incorporate YouTube clips or other streaming media into my class presentation?

Yes, but you must be careful how you do it. If you simply show a clip that you found on the YouTube website, you are sharing content which is already publically available. If you download the clip or alter it before showing it to the class, you may be violating copyright. It would also be copyright infringement to upload a copyrighted video, or a clip from a copyrighted video, to a streaming site, even if the video is licensed for public performance at SFU. (One of the copyright and licensing issues involved with uploading videos from SFU Library is the fact that any public performance rights are for SFU students, staff, and faculty, not the general public.)

Sharing and publishing material

  • Does putting material on a course blog or website count as publishing?

For the purposes of copyright, uploading material online counts as publishing since you are making the work available to the public. As such, posting substantial amounts of a work online (e.g. a pdf of an entire article, a photograph, a video clip) requires permission from the copyright owner for this particular purpose. However, posting a link to the item, or a link to the library database through which the article can be accessed by licensed users, does not consitute publishing and is always an acceptable way to share information.

  • How can I share a copyrighted electronic document such as a journal article with the rest of my class or group?

Sharing a single copy of an item with another person, such as e-mailing a pdf to another classmate at SFU is acceptable practice. So is providing a link to the work or directing classmates to the database which holds the work. Mass e-mailing the pdf to the entire class or posting the pdf to a blog or wiki falls into a less safe area, which may or may not be considered fair dealing according to the Copyright Act. In particular, uploading a copyrighted work to a website, blog, or wiki is not recommended without careful investigation of usage permission.

That said, many creators of digital content are publishing their work under Creative Commons licences, all of which give advance permission for distribution. This means that material licensed through Creative Commons can be posted online. Look for a Creative Commons logo near the work as well as a link to details on usage permission (especially if you are interested in altering the work, since some licenses portect the integrity of the work). For more details, read about Creative Commons licences.

  • When publishing, what kinds of material require permission from the copyright owner?

Remember that copyright applies to the fixed expression of information, not the information itself. If you are quoting brief passages from a work or paraphrasing ideas, you only need to cite your sources—you do not need copyright permission. However, you will need permission from the copyright holder if you wish to re-publish a signficant portion of a work or an entire work. Examples of a significant portion include:

  • an image (e.g. a table, graph, map, photograph, etc)
  • a portion of scanned or photocopied text
  • a substantive portion of a written work (over 500 words of text).
  • What are my rights as an author?

Students hold copyright in the work they produce, regardless of whether it is published. This means that the right to control the copying or publication of the work belongs to the student. The Creative Commons Canada website also has a good explanation of authors' "moral rights," which include the right to be cited for the use of your work and the right not to be misrepresented through the alteration of your work.

If you publish your work online, you may wish to do so under a Creative Commons licence. All Creative Commons licences allow distribution by users but can be chosen to restrict other activities such as commercial use or alteration of the work.

Using material from other libraries or collections

  • Why can't I request an entire issue of a journal?

You may find that a journal not subscribed to by SFU Library has published a theme issue related to your research, so you want to request the entire journal by interlibrary loan. However, unfortunately you cannot request an entire issue of a journal, for the same reasons that you cannot copy an entire book.

  • Can I show a video from another library in class?

In most cases, no. To be shown in the classroom, a video must carry public performance rights. Most of the videos in the Media Resource Centre, The New Media Collection at Surrey, and Belzberg Library are licensed for non-theatrical public performance use at Simon Fraser University. Videos from a public library are not licensed for public performance. To find out if a video is approved for classroom viewing, email media@sfu.ca or see the Film Bookings guide.

Further Information

 

Owned by: Sandra Wong
Revised by: Sandra Wong
Last Modified: 2011-05-09