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Copyright protection exists as soon as a work is created in a fixed form. A fact or idea is not subject to copyright protection, but the expression of the fact or idea is protected. 

Copyright is a broad category that protects creators of:

• Literary, dramatic, artistic, musical works (e.g. book, letter, e-mail, blog, computer program, compilation, government publication, script, play, film, painting, sculpture, photograph, map, architectural drawing, sheet music, compositions, music video, etc.)
• Sound recording (e.g. lectures, animal sounds, nature sounds, music, audio book, etc.)
• Performances (e.g. dancing, singing, acting, etc.)
• Communication signals (e.g. pay-per-view, radio, satellite, broadcasts, etc.)

Multiple copyrights may exist within one work. For example, a musical work may consist of the song (lyrics and music) and the recording of the song. In this case, the song and the recording would be considered two different works and may be protected by copyright as a musical work and sound recording. The lyrics may also be categorized as a literary work. Additionally, a live performance of this song by an artist could also be protected as a performance.

Copyright in most types of works, when used in Canada, lasts for the life of the creator plus 70 years.* After that time, copyright expires and the work enters the public domain; works no longer under copyright can be freely used in any way by anyone, without permission.

*Due to a change in copyright term introduced in 2022, all works whose creators died in 1971 or earlier are no longer protected by copyright.

Articles, single book chapters, lecture notes, and any other material that qualifies for copying under the SFU Fair Dealing policy (Application of Fair Dealing under Policy R30.04). Please see the Copyright Infographic for the copying limits.

Access to the scanned documents is restricted to those students who are enrolled in the course for which they are on Reserve. Links to reserve material have also been added to SFU Connect and Canvas to allow better access for students.

The Library subscribes to or owns outright numerous non-journal electronic resources. Search for them by format using the "Find Databases by database title and description" search box at Article Databases. These resources can be linked to in course listings, electronic reserves, course websites and the learning management system (Canvas). See the Electronic Collection Information for Librarians and Faculty (SFU Library) for the suitability of certain resources for use on Library Reserves. 

Additionally, terms of use information for journals and article indexes and databases licensed by the SFU Library can be viewed via the A-Z Journals Listing in the Library Catalogue. Journal descriptions specify the publishers' terms of use with regard to copying material for use in electronic reserves, course packs and interlibrary loan.

Most reference management tools (e.g. Mendeley, Zotero) store your data on non-Canadian servers, which means your account information may be subject to US laws, specifically the US Patriot Act.  This act allows US authorities to have access to your personal information.  If you are concerned that your personal information is stored outside Canada, do not use these services. The SFU Library has been unable to identify any citation management products that store data exclusively on Canadian servers. 

To protect your privacy and avoid exposure to the US Patriot Act, you may consider using a citation management tool that works offline. For example, the following tools can be downloaded to your computer and used offline exclusively: 

• BibDesk for Mac - free
• EndNote - purchase required 
• Qiqqa - free
• Zotero Standalone - free

We are not able to guarantee the privacy of these tools, and your use of them is at your own risk.  Please note that most of these tools also have online functionality, and using any online features - even briefly - will affect the privacy of your data. Also, note that using citation management software offline may reduce its functionality (e.g. you can't use the web importer tool).  

For information about citation management tools supported by SFU Library, go to Referencing and Citation Management Software.

This depends on whether your works have been published and if so, the agreements that you signed with the publisher. If you retained copyright, you can copy, distribute, adapt, translate, republish and do all the other things protected by copyright. You can also give or withhold permission for others to do these things, at your discretion. If you signed copyright over to a publisher, then the publisher has the right to allow copies or uses to be made of the work, and you must request permission from the publisher to reproduce it. Sometimes publishers will grant some rights back to authors in their agreements; check your agreement or contact your publisher to see what rights you may have retained.

If you created the work as part of your employment (at SFU or another employer), your employer may own the rights. See Who owns copyright in the works I create at Simon Fraser University? for more information.

Copyright owners have the sole legal right to:

• produce or reproduce the work
• perform the work in public
• publish the work
• translate the work
• adapt the work to another format (e.g. novel to film, film to play)
• record a literary, dramatic or musical work
• broadcast the work
• exhibit an artistic work
• rent out a computer program, or a recording of a musical work
• sell a work in the form of a tangible object (in certain circumstances)
• authorize others to do any of these acts

A copyright owner can license any or all of these rights to another entity (individual or organization) temporarily, or assign them to another entity permanently.

These rights are qualified by certain exceptions which balance the copyright owner’s interests with the public interest in allowing use of works for purposes such as education and research, such as fair dealing.

As much as possible, the SFU Library (which now includes Belzberg, Surrey and the Main Bennett library) policy and practice is that all materials should be available to any SFU person from anywhere. However, there are practical limitations on this policy and unfortunately they may inconvenience some users who would like to use these parts of the collection.

Materials are assessed for condition when they are returned.

Software on library and lab computers changes on a semester by semester basis.

For the Library see the IT Services page at Surrey.

View all available software.

Simon Fraser University's copyright policies align with the Government of Canada’s copyright legislation (Copyright Act) and outline the institution’s requirements of faculty, staff and students to comply with all legal requirements. 

Simon Fraser University is committed to compliance in all copyright matters. It is the responsibility of each individual to comply with copyright laws and respect copyright ownership and licensing. The use of copyright protected materials without proper consent may be actionable under both the Copyright Act and the Criminal Code. In addition to any actions that might be taken by any copyright owner or its licensing agent, the University will take any breaches of its copyright policy very seriously. In the case of employees, disciplinary procedures may be applied. In the case of students, disciplinary action for academic and/or non-academic misconduct may be applied.