Copyright FAQs for instructors

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Here you will find FAQs about finding and using copyright protected works in your teaching. For FAQs and resources related to your rights as the creator of teaching materials such as lecture notes and slides, exams and assignments, as well as research products, please see the Authors and Other Creators section.

Some text derived from University of Waterloo (licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) and University of Saskatchewan (licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.5) copyright FAQs.

Copyright basics

See Copyright basics FAQs for information on how copyright works in Canada and at SFU and general information about the Canadian Copyright Act.

Using copyright protected material in the classroom

The Copyright Act allows certain uses of copyright protected materials by instructors in educational institutions. The FAQs below explain what you can do in the classroom.

Is there a limit to how much I can copy?

Yes. If you are copying material for use in teaching a course, fair dealing allows for limited copying of short excerpts of copyright protected works. SFU has fair dealing limits for copying for educational purposes set out in the policy Application of Fair Dealing under Policy R30.04 and summarized in the Copyright and Teaching infographic. Generally, you can copy up to 10% of a work or one chapter of a book; see the Copyright and Teaching infographic for details.

The material copied can only be distributed to students engaged in a specific course of study at SFU and cannot be made available to those not in the class. The short excerpt can be made available as a class handout (or email); in Canvas; or as part of a coursepack. Copying under fair dealing cannot exceed the limits in the Copyright and Teaching infographic per course and per semester, i.e., copying chapter after chapter from one book throughout the semester will not qualify.

If you are copying material for use on a website, in publicity materials, for publication or any other use outside a course, you may need the permission of the copyright holder. Contact the Copyright Officer (copy@sfu.ca) with a specific question or for help obtaining permission.

Can I make copies of copyright protected works to hand out to students in class?

Yes. Under fair dealing you may make copies of another person’s works and hand them out to students enrolled in your course. Please see the Copyright and Teaching Infographic for details and limits. You must adhere to the amount that may be copied under fair dealing.

Does citing a work make it okay to copy it?

No. Citing the source of a work you use is good academic practice and helps you avoid plagiarism, but citation alone does not mean you are permitted to copy the work.

In order to legally copy a copyright-protected work for use in teaching materials, assignments, or theses/dissertations, your use must be permitted by one of the following:

  • explicit permission from the copyright owner;
  • use of an "insubstantial" amount, e.g., a typical short quote of a few sentences;
  • a users' rights exception in the Copyright Act, such as fair dealing;
  • the terms of a license, like those the SFU Library has for ejournals and ebooks [note: these licenses typically don't permit use in a thesis/dissertation]; or
  • the terms of an open license, such as a Creative Commons license, applied to the work by its copyright owner.
What is fair dealing and how does it relate to copyright?

Fair dealing is a user’s right in copyright law permitting use of, or “dealing” with, a copyright protected work without permission or payment of copyright royalties. The fair dealing exception in the Copyright Act allows you to use other people’s copyright protected material for the purpose of research, private study, education, satire, parody, criticism, review or news reporting, provided that what you do with the work is ‘fair’. If your purpose is criticism, review or news reporting, you must also mention the source and author of the work for it to be fair dealing.

SFU has a Fair Dealing Policy which lays out how much you can copy for purposes of education, research and private study.

Whether something is ‘fair’ will depend on the circumstances. Courts will normally consider factors such as:

  • The purpose of the dealing (Is it commercial or research / educational?)
  • The character of the dealing (What was done with the work? Was it an isolated use or an ongoing, repetitive use? How widely was it distributed?)
  • The amount of the dealing (How much was copied?)
  • Alternatives to the dealing (Was the work necessary for the end result? Could a different work have been used instead?)
  • The nature of the work (Is there a public interest in its dissemination? Was it previously unpublished?)
  • The effect of the dealing on the original work (Does the use compete with the market of the original work?)

It is not necessary that your use satisfy every one of these factors in order to be fair, and no one factor is determinative by itself. In assessing whether your use is fair, a court would look at the factors as a whole to determine if, on balance, your use is fair.  

If, having taken into account these considerations, the use can be characterized as ‘fair’ and it was for the purpose of research, private study, education, satire, parody, criticism, review or news reporting, then it is likely to fall within the fair dealing exception and will not require permission from the copyright owner. In addition, if your purpose is criticism, review or news reporting you must also mention the source and author of the work. For further clarity and additional information about limits on the amount and nature of copying permitted under fair dealing in certain contexts, please see the Application of Fair Dealing under Policy R30.04. The application of these limits to teaching at SFU is outlined in the top section of the Copyright and Teaching infographic.

Please note as well; it is important to distinguish "fair dealing" from "fair use." The fair use exception in U.S. copyright law is NOT the equivalent of fair dealing in Canadian law. The wording of the two exceptions is different. It is important to make sure that you consider the Canadian law and are not relying on U.S. information, which has no jurisdiction in Canada.

Am I allowed to copy fair dealing amounts from more than one edition of the same textbook?

No. Although each textbook edition is its own copyright protected work, the differences between the editions are often marginal and do not justify copying allowable amounts from multiple editions of the same textbook.

For example: You cannot copy chapter 3 from the 2nd edition and chapter 4 from the 3rd edition, and make those available to your students.

Are there special rules for scanning copyright protected material?

No, scanning is allowed within the same parameters as any other method of copying.  

If you want to scan something, you may do so only if the use falls within one of the exceptions in the Copyright Act, such as fair dealing, or where no permission is required, such as scanning a public domain work (one in which copyright has expired). 

If you want to scan a work that is still in copyright and add it to a website under fair dealing, you need to be sure that the website is password protected (e.g., SFU’s learning management system) and restricted to students enrolled in your course, and follow the fair dealing limits. 

If what you want to do falls outside the exceptions and is not in the public domain, you will need to get the copyright owner’s permission.

Are there any databases of materials that I can use for free without worrying about copyright?

Yes. There is a wealth of material out there which is either in the public domain (meaning copyright has expired) or available under Creative Commons licensing, which generally means the work is available for free, subject to certain limited conditions, such as non-commercial use only and acknowledgment of the author. This includes open access publications, which generally use Creative Commons licenses.

For Creative Commons materials, visit the Creative Commons website for more information and search their Openverse. Content in the Wikimedia Commons is almost entirely Creative Commons-licensed. Google Images has a filter (under "Tools" > "Usage Rights") to select Creative Commons-licensed results only (note: you should always check the content's original site to confirm its license), and content sites like Flickr and YouTube also have such filters.

For public domain material, simply search online for ‘public domain’ and the type of material you’re interested in. Some useful sites include: Project Gutenberg (the largest collection of copyright-free books online) and Wikipedia, which has an entire page dedicated to public domain resources. 

For other online materials, a recommended best practice is to check the website’s "Terms of Use" or "Legal Notices" section to confirm what conditions apply to use of the website’s material. In some cases, you may be able to use the material for free for non-commercial and educational purposes.

SFU Library also subscribes to a number of image databases. These contents can typically be used for teaching and learning purposes.

What are Creative Commons licenses?

Creative Commons is a non-profit organization that has developed a suite of licenses that authors and other creators can apply to their works to permit sharing and distribution. Applying a Creative Commons (CC) license to your written, artistic, musical or multimedia work means that you retain ownership of copyright but you permit certain uses of your work without the user needing to contact you for permission each time. You also waive your moral rights, to the extent required for users to use your works according to the applied license. Please note that users of copyright protected works (including those under CC licenses) have certain rights in Canada’s Copyright Act; these rights will supersede the terms of a CC license where applicable.

You must be the copyright holder of the work and any other works contained within it (such as photographs, diagrams, articles, video clips, etc.), or have license or permission to include these works, in order to apply a CC license. Once you make your work available under a specific CC license, you cannot revoke or change the license associated with that specific work (though of course you may stop distributing the material).

There are six different CC licenses, each with various parameters and requirements, ranging from extremely open and permissive to slightly less so. All CC licenses will permit typical teaching uses such as displaying in the classroom, distributing to students or posting in Canvas. These licenses are described below.

by  CC BY (Attribution)

The most open of Creative Commons licenses, this option permits others to copy, distribute, adapt and otherwise use your work in any way without contacting your for permission. However, they are required to credit you in any use they make of your work.

by-sa  CC BY-SA (Attribution-ShareAlike)

This license permits others to copy, distribute, adapt and otherwise use your work in any way without contacting you for permission. However, they are required to credit you in any use they make of your work, and also to license any derivative work (e.g. an adapted version) under the same license.

by-nd  CC BY-ND (Attribution-NoDerivs [No Derivatives])

This license permits others to copy and distribute your work without contacting you for permission. However, they are required to credit you on the copies they make and they are not permitted to change your work in any way.

by-nc  CC BY-NC (Attribution-NonCommercial)

This license permits others to copy, distribute, adapt and otherwise use your work without contacting you for permission. However, they are required to credit you in any use they make of your work and they are not permitted to use the work for commercial purposes. Non-commercial purposes are defined by Creative Commons as those “not primarily intended or directed towards commercial advantage or monetary compensation.”

by-nc-sa  CC BY-NC-SA (Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike)

This license permits others to copy, distribute, adapt and otherwise use your work without contacting you for permission. However, they must credit you in any use they make of the work; they are not permitted to use the work for commercial purposes; and they must license any derivative work (e.g. an adapted version) under the same license. Non-commercial purposes are defined by Creative Commons as those “not primarily intended or directed towards commercial advantage or monetary compensation.”

by-nc-nd  CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs [No Derivatives])

This license permits others to copy and distribute your work without contacting you for permission. However, they must credit you on any copies they make; they are not permitted to use the work for commercial purposes; and they are not permitted to change your work in any way. Non-commercial purposes are defined by Creative Commons as those “not primarily intended or directed towards commercial advantage or monetary compensation.”

 

Can I photocopy a recent journal article and hand it out to my students?

Yes. The Application of Fair Dealing under Policy R30.04 permits the copying of an entire journal article. Copies may be handed out to the students enrolled in your course or you may post a copy of the article to Canvas. See the Copyright Infographic for further details on how you can share copyright protected materials for teaching.

What if a book I want to copy is out of print?

Being out of print does not mean that a book is no longer protected by copyright. Fair dealing for educational use allows making copies of "short excerpts," and other educational exceptions in the Copyright Act allow other specific uses; see the Copyright and Teaching infographic for copying guidelines for classroom use. If a longer portion is required and the book is still protected by copyright, you should contact the publisher to request permission to use the material. The SFU Bookstore can request permission for you, and distribute copies of the work once permission is obtained. The Copyright Clearance Fund may be able to support payment of copyright license fees for this copying - details about the Fund and eligibility are on this page.

Are government documents protected by copyright?

Yes, all government documents created in Canada are protected by copyright. Federal, territorial and provincial government documents are protected by Crown copyright and the term of Crown copyright is 50 years after the date of publication.

Municipal government documents are not covered by Crown copyright, but instead fall under the normal copyright term of life of the creator plus 70 years. Check the website of the municipal government whose documents you wish to reproduce to see if they allow for reproduction for educational, non-commercial or research purposes.

For further information on the use of federal government documents that are under Crown copyright see the federal Crown Copyright Request page.

For further information about the use of BC government documents that are under Crown copyright see the provincial Copyright page.

How does copyright apply to data?

Data and factual information (e.g., rainfall or temperature measurements, mortality rates, population numbers, currency values, chemical structures, historical facts and dates, the number of Twitter followers someone has) are not protected by copyright. Additionally, simple and typical visualizations such as line graphs and tables, or the bar chart shown below, are often not creative enough to be eligible for copyright protection. These types of material may be able to be copied and used without permission.

Total precipitation over the last year (monthly data) for Vancouver

However, some types of research products that might be used in a similar way to data (e.g., photographs, audiovisual recordings, detailed diagrams and charts, collections of text mined from websites or publications) are most likely protected by copyright.

If you are using someone else's data in your teaching or research, you will need to consider its copyright status, and ensure that you have the right or permission to copy and share it. Remember that fair dealing and other rights may apply.

If you are generating or compiling data in your research, any copyright in these materials may belong to you, another member of your research team, or an external third party. If your data incorporates works created by others, you will need to consider the copyright status before sharing or making it public, unless your use of the work falls under fair dealing or a similar provision. If you are depositing to a research data repository, such as FRDR, you should ensure you have the right, or permission, from any copyright owners, to deposit copyright-protected material (more information about copyright considerations for data deposits can be found on this page).

Any questions about data and copyright can be directed the SFU Copyright Office at copy@sfu.ca.

Image credit: Chart generated at vancouver.weatherstats.ca

 

What do my students need to know about copyright?

Students at SFU are subject to Canada's Copyright Act and SFU's Copyright Policies when doing coursework and creating assignments including papers, projects, artworks and presentations. Students can use the fair dealing and educational exceptions when using copyright protected works in assignments for classes (see the Copyright Infographic for details).

Students own copyright in the works that they create at SFU, and such assignments, presentations and projects cannot be copied without the student's permission, except in certain situations outlined in the Copyright Act (see the Fair Dealing Policy for details).

Please note that theses and dissertations require different copyright considerations because they will be published; see the Copyright and your thesis page for further information.

Instructors own copyright in their teaching materials such as presentation slides, exams, lecture notes and the delivery of the lecture itself, and students cannot copy these works without the instructor's permission, except under fair dealing or another exception in the Copyright Act.

The Copyright Office provides information and assistance to students on our Students pages and via email (copy@sfu.ca). We also provide a sample copyright statement for instructors to use in course syllabi.

Is there anything I can do if I find my teaching materials posted on a tutoring website?

Instructors at SFU generally own copyright in their teaching materials such as lecture slides and notes, assignment instructions and exams (per SFU Policy R30.03 Intellectual Property Policy). No one can post these materials on a public website without your permission. (However, students own the copyright in their class notes and assignments and have the right to share these online.) As the copyright owner of your teaching materials, you can request that the website remove them; the SFU Copyright Office can make this request on your behalf.

Visit this page to learn more about this issue and steps you can take to reduce the likelihood that your materials will be posted online, and to submit a form requesting the Copyright Office's assistance in submitting a takedown request.

Can I record my lecture for students if it contains copyright protected content (including images/audiovisual material)?

Just as it is legal to show slides containing images in class, it is generally legal to show them in a lecture recorded for students, as long as the video is shared only with students in the class through a password-protected course website such as Canvas.

As with slides shown in person, you should incorporate material within the fair dealing and related guidelines or license agreements for the content (such as those for content held by SFU Library). Using openly-licensed images, such as those with Creative Commons licenses, makes this easy by providing broad permission for use.

Use of brief clips of films or audio recordings (i.e., up to 10% of the work) may be permitted under fair dealing but you should not record an entire show, film, or audio recording within a lecture recording.

The Library has streaming audiovisual collections that you can link to for students to access themselves, and if we don't have the material you need we can convert a DVD to a streaming file and make it available to the students in your class. This is done under the distance and online education exception (s. 30.01) and in accordance with the technological protection measures section (s. 41.1) of the Copyright Act.

Using copyright protected material in PowerPoint presentations

Can I include copies of another person’s images and materials in my PowerPoint presentations?

Under fair dealing you may generally copy up to 10% of another person’s work, including images, for inclusion in your PowerPoint presentations that you display to students enrolled in your course. You can copy and display an entire single image from a collection of images (e.g. a single photograph from a book of photographs), or up to 10% of a stand-alone image that is not part of a larger collection. You may also put this image in Canvas.

Under the educational institution exceptions in the Copyright Act, you may display an entire work in the classroom, including a stand-alone image that is not part of a larger collection of images. To do so you must ensure that there is not a commercially available copy (obtainable within a reasonable time and price) in the format required (S29.4 of Copyright Act). If you subsequently put this image in Canvas, you must destroy/remove the file from Canvas within 30 days of the end of the course. Simply making the file inaccessible is insufficient. (See S30.01 of the Copyright Act). You may also copy an entire work found online as long as there is no technological protection measure and no "clearly visible notice" prohibiting the use.

See the Copyright and Teaching Infographic for full details.

What if I hand out copies of my PowerPoint slides and there are copyright protected images/material on the slides?

SFU instructors own copyright in their lectures, and students own copyright in their presentations and assignments, as per SFU Policy R30.03 Intellectual Property Policy, but you may not own the copyright to all of the content within your lecture or presentation. Many educational uses of copyright protected materials are allowed for through fair dealing and educational exceptions to the Copyright Act. However, what you can display in the classroom may be different from what you can distribute to students.

It is important that access to the material is limited to the students enrolled in the course and that the guidelines outlined on the Copyright and Teaching Infographic are respected if the slides will be handed out rather than just displayed in the classroom. If you need to make use of a greater volume of material than that which is permitted through the fair dealing policy or other exceptions, you must:

1. Remove copyright materials from the slides before creating the handouts,

2. Request that SFU’s Copyright Officer evaluate whether a particular instance of copying or communication of a copyright-protected work is permitted under fair dealing or another exception, or

3. Seek express written permission from the copyright holder to copy and communicate that content. Be sure to keep a copy of any permission you receive.

Using copyright protected material from the Internet

Is it okay to use images or other material from the Internet for educational purposes?

It depends on what you want to do. Materials on the Internet are treated the same under copyright law as any other copyright protected materials, so if you want to use them, they have to either fall within one of the Act’s exceptions (such as fair dealing or the educational exception relating to materials from the Internet), or be open access or in the public domain.

Under the educational exception, you are permitted to copy, distribute, communicate or perform works found on the Internet to your students, provided that:

  1. The work is properly cited (e.g., source, author, performer, maker and/or broadcaster),
  2. The work is publicly available (i.e. access is not restricted by a technological protection measure),
  3. There is no clearly visible notice prohibiting the intended use (note that the © copyright symbol alone does not prohibit use), and
  4. It is apparent that the work was not copied or made available online in violation of the copyright owner's rights.

If what you want to use isn’t from an open access or public domain source and does not fall into one of the Act’s exceptions you will have to obtain permission from the copyright owner. You should check the website’s ‘Terms of Use’ or ‘Legal Notices’ section to confirm what conditions apply to use of the website’s material, including whether educational use is explicitly prohibited. Some websites will allow non-commercial educational use of their materials.

Is everything on the Internet in the public domain, and therefore fair game?

A work enters the public domain only after copyright expires, or if the creator has designated the work as such. 

Most material found on the Internet is protected just like any other material (unless otherwise indicated). Text, charts, graphs, tables, photographs, music, movies, graphics, postings to news groups, blogs, e-mail messages, images, video clips, and computer software do not lose copyright protection simply because they are posted on the Internet.  

However, as outlined in the Copyright and Teaching Infographic, educators are allowed to copy, distribute, communicate, or perform, works found on the Internet to their students, provided that:

  1. The work is properly cited (e.g., source, author, performer, maker, and/or broadcaster),
  2. The work is publicly available (e.g., access is not restricted by a Technological Protection Measure),
  3. There is no clearly visible notice (not just the © copyright symbol alone) prohibiting the intended use, and
  4. It is apparent that the work was not made available in violation of the copyright owner’s rights.
Do I need to ask permission to link to a website?

Content found online is protected by copyright in the same way as print and other formats, even if there is no copyright symbol or notice. Linking directly to the web page containing the content you wish to use is almost always permitted. You should also include the full details of the author, copyright owner and source of the materials by the link. This will avoid any suggestion that the website is your own material or that your website is somehow affiliated with the other site. 

If you have reason to believe that the website may contain content posted without the permission of the copyright owner, you should avoid linking to it.

If you want to copy content from a website, rather than link to it, you must comply with statements prohibiting copying of material on the site or indicating that permission is required to copy the content. Such statements are typically found in sections titled ‘Terms of Use’ or ‘Legal Notices,’ and are often linked from the very bottom (footer) of the page.

Can I show a YouTube video in class?

If a video is freely available on the open Internet (e.g., on YouTube), then displaying such a video in an educational class or workshop is acceptable, provided that it is played live from the Internet rather than copied or downloaded. Similarly, displaying a live website (i.e., in the browser) is permissible. Distributing links (even deep links) or URLs to online resources is appropriate, as long as security is not being circumvented and the material has been posted legally. To determine that the material was posted legally, with the permission of the copyright owner, check on the creator's or owner's own website or channel, or check for ads before or during the video (ads often indicate that the copyright owner has given permission after the fact, even if the video was posted by someone else).

Can I embed YouTube videos in my course website?

Yes, as long as the content has not been posted in an infringing manner and there is no stated restriction on using the material. Do not embed, or link to, any material that you know, or suspect, has been illegally posted.

Using copyright protected material in the learning management system, email and personal websites

The FAQs below explain what you can communicate to your students via the learning management system (Canvas) for both on-campus and online or distance education courses, and through email and other websites.

Can I post copies of copyright protected works to SFU’s learning management system or email them to students?

Yes, you can do both if you adhere to the amount that may be copied under fair dealing or another exception in the Copyright Act. Refer to the Copyright and Teaching Infographic for details and limits.

Include a clearly visible notice on all materials you post or email, that states:
This item has been copied under the Fair Dealing provisions of the Copyright Act as enumerated in SFU Appendix R30.04A - Application of Fair Dealing under Policy R30.04. You may not distribute, e-mail or otherwise communicate these materials to any other person.

May I upload a PDF of a journal article I obtained through the library’s e-journals to Canvas for my students to read?

While there may be good reason to upload articles to the LMS, it is important to consider that doing so may mean that your students do not have the most recent version of the article. It is not unusual for publishers to make corrections or changes, such as adding supplementary material, to articles after initial publication. If such changes are made after a copy has been uploaded they will not be reflected in that copy. A direct link is the best way to ensure access to the most recent version of an article. Linking to the article also allows the Library to track use and obtain data about the importance of a particular journal to the campus.

That said, the licenses for some e-journals provided by the Library allow instructors to upload articles into secure learning management systems (LMS) such as Canvas. In the library catalogue, look in the "Access It" section and click "Show license" to see the details about what is permitted for that specific resource.

Making Readings Available to Students describes several different ways to make required and supplementary readings available to students online and suggests the pros and cons of each option. Each option has specific benefits along with specific cautions, including copyright compliance. 

While uploading and linking to articles in the LMS may be permitted by the licenses, it is important to remember that licenses generally do not permit you to upload to a website, or create links on a website, that is not part of the University’s secure network, and that is open to the world at large. None of the licenses that the Library has with publishers allows for uploading to, or linking from, websites that allow access without authentication. 

Can I post my slides in Canvas if they contain figures, diagrams and other images from a book?

There are two exceptions in the Copyright Act that can apply to this situation - fair dealing and educational exceptions. The Copyright Infographic spells out the possibilities and limitations of both of these exceptions.

Under fair dealing you may post charts, diagrams or other images from textbooks, or other works, to SFU’s learning management system (Canvas), as long as you adhere to permitted amounts of material. If for example, you wish to post multiple images from a book, you may do so as long as those images amount to no more than 10% of the book (see the Application of Fair Dealing under Policy R30.04). It is important to note that if you wish to post such material to a website, that website must be password protected or otherwise restricted to students enrolled in your course.  

Include a clearly visible notice on all materials you post using the fair dealing limits that states:

This item has been copied under the Fair Dealing provisions of the Copyright Act as enumerated in SFU Appendix R30.04A - Application of Fair Dealing under Policy R30.04. You may not distribute, e-mail or otherwise communicate these materials to any other person.

Under an educational exception in the Copyright Act you may display entire works in the classroom if necessary, if you are unable to find a commercially available version in the format you require. As well, under section 30.01 of the Copyright Act, you may post this same presentation in Canvas, but it must also be restricted to students enrolled in your course, and must be destroyed within 30 days from the end of the course.

Include a clearly visible notice on all materials you post using the educational exception that states:

This item has been copied under section 30.01 of the Copyright Act. You may not distribute, e-mail or otherwise communicate these materials to any other person. You must delete all copies of these materials within 30 days of the end of the course they pertain to.

Additionally, slides provided by textbook publishers can almost always be posted, according to their Terms of Use.

Is there any difference between posting something on my own website and posting it in Canvas?

Yes. Canvas, like many learning management systems (LMS), is password protected and accessible only by students enrolled in a particular course. A publicly accessible website is accessible by the whole world. SFU's Fair Dealing Policy (Application of Fair Dealing Under Policy R30.04), detailed in the Copyright and Teaching Infographic, provides parameters for making copyright protected materials available to your students, but specifically limits you to handing materials out in class, emailing them directly to your students, posting them in an LMS or including them in a course pack produced by the Bookstore. This policy is based on the fair dealing right in Canada's Copyright Act; wider distribution, such as on an open website, is generally considered less "fair." Additionally, some of the Library's subscriptions to ejournals and ebooks specifically permit articles and other materials to be posted only in restricted course management systems.

Can I embed YouTube videos in my course website?

Yes, as long as the content has not been posted in an infringing manner and there is no stated restriction on using the material. Do not embed, or link to, any material that you know, or suspect, has been illegally posted.

May I post examples of my students’ work to my SFU learning management system course or on my personal website?

Under SFU Policy R30.03 Intellectual Property Policy, students own the copyright in the works they create, so you may only copy and distribute such works with their permission. The University does have the right to make copies of student works for academic purposes, but this right does not extend to making them available online. Accordingly, you should ask students in advance whether they give permission for their work to be posted online and keep written records of the permissions given. However, you may be able to use the work in certain ways under fair dealing or another exception in the Copyright Act - see the Copyright and Teaching Infographic for details and limits.

Copyright and library reserves, electronic resources and interlibrary loan

Why am I not able to download or print this entire ebook?

The SFU Library provides access to ebooks from many different publishers on a variety of platforms.  Some of the ebook platforms include DRM (Digital Rights Management) to protect the content of their ebooks from copyright abuse. This means that you will encounter a variety of limitations in how much you can print, download and save from an ebook.

Access to ebooks on third party platforms is an agreement between the platform and the publisher; the library has no involvement, except for the right to purchase (or lease) the ebook on an ebook platform. 

It is common for a publisher, or an author, to request additional DRM limits (on top of the platform's standard DRM restrictions). Unfortunately, there is no way to know for sure which ebooks these additional limits apply to -- except when you attempt to do something that is beyond the limits, such as print 20 pages in one session if the publisher has set the limit to 15 pages on that platform.

Ebook Central

  • The copy and print limits on most Proquest Ebook Central books are based on a percentage of the number of pages in the book.  (per book, per user session) Pages you can print = 30% and pages from which you can copy = 15%.
  • Allows full book download for two weeks (14 days) using Adobe Digital Editions
  • You must register for an account.

Ebook Collection (EBSCOhost)

Gale Virtual Reference Library

  • Allows PDF downloads of a single article or portions of a single article at a time.

Related:

Can I put a textbook for my course on Library Reserves?

Yes, original works can be placed on reserve without concern for copyright clearance. The Library currently reviews course textbook lists and places items held in the collection on reserve to ensure the best access for students. See Reserves Services for Faculty. 

You may add a paper copy of a work to the library reserve system according to the Application of Fair Dealing under Policy R30.04, another exception under the Copyright Act or a Library license, up to a maximum of 3 copies for every 30 students.

Are there any restrictions on posting an instructor’s notes on Library Reserves?

Instructors may have their notes posted on Library Reserves. In addition they may provide notes that include copyright protected material as long as they have the right under fair dealing or another exception to include the material. Send the material to be posted to lib-reservesurl@sfu.ca for courses at SFU Burnaby and SFU Vancouver and to fraser_library@sfu.ca for courses at SFU Surrey.

What materials can be scanned and placed on Library Reserve?

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.

Can the library send me electronic copies of articles using the interlibrary loan service?

Yes. Almost all articles requested via interlibrary loan are delivered to the requestor using a secure post-to-web service that complies with Canada’s Copyright Act.

Can I just link to the electronic journal article myself on SFU's learning management system and skip using Library Reserves?

Yes, you can create a direct link yourself. Making Readings Available to Students describes several different ways to make required and supplementary readings available to students online and suggests the pros and cons of each option. Each option has specific benefits along with specific cautions, including copyright compliance.

What are licenses for electronic resources?

The Simon Fraser University Library has contracts with a variety of vendors and publishers that provide the campus with thousands of electronic resources (databases, e-journals, e-books, etc.) costing millions of dollars per year. 

In addition to paying for these resources, the Library negotiates license agreements that stipulate how and by whom a given resource may be used. Please note that the license terms take precedence over SFU’s Fair Dealing Guidelines and override the user rights in the Copyright Act. Only current faculty, students or staff are registered with the proxy server and thus able to access resources from off-campus (for those resources permitting off-campus access AKA remote access). In most cases, access for the general public (AKA walk-in users) is made available through computers within the Library. Learn more about who is authorized to access the Library’s electronic resources.

Here are some rules of thumb for good practices and avoiding improper use. Improper use, known as a license violation, can result in the university’s temporary, or permanent, loss of access to a resource.

Do's and don'ts

Usually OK:

Not OK:

  • Making a limited number of print or electronic copies for your personal use
  • Systematic or substantial printing, copying or downloading (such as entire journal issues)
  • Using materials for personal, instructional or research needs
  • Selling or re-distributing content, or providing access to someone outside of the university community, such as an employer
  • Sharing with SFU faculty, staff and students
  • Sharing with people other than registered SFU faculty, staff and students except via interlibrary loan
  • Posting links to specific content
  • Posting actual content or articles to third party web sites or listservs
 
  • Modifying or altering the contents of licensed resources in any way

Always acknowledge your source on any published or unpublished document when you use data found on electronic resources. 

How do I know what uses are permitted/prohibited for a given electronic resource?

Follow the license instructions related to some of the common uses (ex. Using electronic resources in course packs and reserves, printing and downloading, remote access, text and data mining, etc.) available in the databases list and within the Library Catalogue record of each resource by clicking on Show License.

See license details in the database record 

Step 1: Search or browse to a given database record from the databases list (example show below can be found here). Scroll down the page and click on the "show license" button.

Step 2: An extended display of license details will show indicating what uses are permitted or prohibited for this specific resource.  


 

See license details in the Library Catalogue records

Step 1: Search the Library Catalogue for a given resource (a database, book, book chapter, journal, article, etc.). In the "Access it" section within the record view, you could learn about the license details for this resource by clicking on the "show license" button. 
 

Step 2: An extended display of license details will show indicating what uses are permitted or prohibited for this specific resource. Scroll down for details related to TDM. 

 

Please note: If you are unsure about what those permissions/prohibitions mean for your use, check the electronic resources terms of use or contact the Electronic Resources Librarian at lib-licensing@sfu.ca.

What non-journal electronic resources does the university have and how do I access them?

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.

Where can I find more information about the Library Reserves service and how to use it?

Visit Reserves Services for Faculty

Using copyright protected material in course packs

What is a course pack? Can I use a course pack in my course?

A course pack is a compilation of works (typically readings) from more than one source. Paper course packs are no longer available, but the Bookstore can produce a digital course pack. Please contact the Custom Course Materials Coordinator for more information on how to create a course pack as well as important deadlines.

Why is there sometimes a fee for copyright protected material in a course pack?

Copyright owners and creators of works have the right to charge a fee for the use of their materials unless fair dealing, another Copyright Act exception or a Library license otherwise covers the use. The cost of course packs varies depending on the copyright fees charged by the copyright owner, the number of pages and documents, and the volume of course packs being produced. Those costs are generally reflected in the selling price of the course pack, over which SFU has no control. Copyright fees are collected on behalf of the copyright owners and remitted to them.

If I only have a couple of readings, are there other options?

If the readings you need fall within the fair dealing and related guidelines (detailed on the Copyright and Teaching infographic), you can copy them yourself and post them in Canvas, or place them on reserve through the Library. If you only need one or two readings that exceed fair dealing but are not enough to put together a course pack, you may be eligible for the Copyright Clearance Fund which will pay for any copyright clearance fees for the readings. See details on the Copyright Clearance Fund page to determine if this service fits your needs.

Note: There are some special cases, such as reproducing out-of-print books or rare/fragile materials, which may take longer for copyright clearance. When you place your order, the Custom Course Materials Coordinator can assess what copyright clearance may be required. Obtaining clearances for such materials can take quite some time (an average of 6-8 weeks or more) so ensure you submit your requests early to be assured that your course pack will be available in time. You will need to comply with any deadlines as set out by the Bookstore.

If I am the author or creator of a work, can I copy the work for my students?

As the author or creator of the work, you likely own copyright in it unless you have assigned (i.e., transferred) ownership of copyright to someone else such as a publisher.

If you own copyright in the work you can use it in any way you like, such as posting it in your Canvas course, including it in a course pack, or handing out copies in class.

If you transferred copyright to a publisher or another party, you can copy the work within the limits on the Copyright and Teaching infographic or contact the copyright owner to request permission to use it.

If I have permission to post something to Canvas does this mean I can also include it in my course pack?

If you posted the content in Canvas under fair dealing or another exception in the Copyright Act (i.e., within the guidelines detailed on the Copyright and Teaching Infographic), it can be included in a course pack without further permission.

If, however, the content was posted in Canvas under the license terms on a journal subscription or other content through SFU Library, you should check the license terms in the Library catalogue to see whether inclusion in a course pack is also permitted. Some copyright holders will grant permission to put material on password-protected websites such as Canvas or another learning management system, but not to copy the material in a course pack. The SFU Bookstore can confirm whether separate permission is required for use in a course pack.

Using copyright protected audio and video material in the classroom

Can I play films and videos in class?

You may play videos in class in the following circumstances:

  • You may show a film or other cinematographic work in the classroom as long as the work is not an infringing copy, the film or work was legally obtained, and you do not circumvent a technological protection measure (digital lock) to access the film or work.
  • If you want to show a television news program in the classroom, under the Copyright Act, educational institutions (or those acting under their authority) may copy television news programs or news commentaries and play them in class. 
  • You may perform a work available through the Internet (e.g. YouTube videos), except under the following circumstances:
    • The work is protected by digital locks preventing their performance,
    • A clearly visible notice prohibiting educational use is posted on the website or on the work itself, or
    • You have reason to believe that the work was copied or posted online in violation of the copyright owner’s rights.
Can I play music in class?

Yes. The Copyright Act allows you to play a sound recording or live radio broadcasts in class as long as it is:

  1. For educational purposes,
  2. Not for profit,
  3. On University premises, and
  4. Before an audience consisting primarily of students. 

However, if you want to use music for non-educational purposes, for example, for background music at a conference or in an athletic facility, licenses must be obtained from the copyright collectives SOCAN and Re:Sound.

Can I show a YouTube video in class?

If a video is freely available on the open Internet (e.g., on YouTube), then displaying such a video in an educational class or workshop is acceptable, provided that it is played live from the Internet rather than copied or downloaded. Similarly, displaying a live website (i.e., in the browser) is permissible. Distributing links (even deep links) or URLs to online resources is appropriate, as long as security is not being circumvented and the material has been posted legally. To determine that the material was posted legally, with the permission of the copyright owner, check on the creator's or owner's own website or channel, or check for ads before or during the video (ads often indicate that the copyright owner has given permission after the fact, even if the video was posted by someone else).

Can I bring a movie from home or from the Library and show it in class?

Yes, as long as it is a legal, commercial copy played for the purpose of education, the audience is primarily students, and no profit is gained. There is no longer the need to ensure a public performance license is in place.

Can I embed YouTube videos in my course website?

Yes, as long as the content has not been posted in an infringing manner and there is no stated restriction on using the material. Do not embed, or link to, any material that you know, or suspect, has been illegally posted.

Compliance

Why should I care about copyright?

Use of copyrighted materials is protected under the law in Canada and we are subject to the Canadian Copyright Act. Additionally, the University has implemented policies, standards and guidelines that, as members of the university community, we are required to follow.

Simon Fraser University respects intellectual property and intellectual property laws, and will take appropriate steps to ensure consistent application of legal requirements throughout the University. It is the responsibility of each member of the university community to comply with copyright law and respect copyright ownership and licensing.  

Please note that staff at the University Library, Archives, Bookstore, Centre for Educational Excellence, Creative Services and Document Solutions have a professional responsibility to respect copyright law and may refuse to copy or print something if it is thought to be an infringement of copyright law.

Are students allowed to film my lectures?

Under Policy R30.03, SFU's Intellectual Property Policy, instructors own copyright in their research and their teaching materials, including lectures (both written notes and the "performance" of the lecture), slide presentations and exams. This means that generally, students cannot film your lecture, copy your notes or slides, or post these materials online without your permission.

However, students still have the users' rights outlined in the Copyright Act, which means that within the limits of fair dealing, they can copy short excerpts of your work without permission.

Additionally, you are required to accommodate students who need teaching materials in alternate formats due to a disability. Students registered with the Centre for Accessible Learning (CAL) can record your entire lecture or copy your slides if they need to. These copies are for their own personal use only, though, and cannot be shared or posted online. Such students should identify themselves to you in advance. Contact the Centre for Accessible Learning (formerly: the Centre for Students with Disabilities) with any questions about these requirements.

You are welcome to inform your students that they cannot record your lectures; the Copyright Office provides sample syllabus text you can use, or you can write your own.

Contact the Copyright Office (copy@sfu.ca) with any questions.

What is copyright infringement?

A person who does something with a copyright protected work that only the copyright owner is entitled to do, and does so without the permission of the copyright owner, infringes copyright and can be held liable. Either civil or criminal penalties can be imposed for copyright infringement. Criminal penalties can include fines and/or imprisonment and depend on the seriousness of the infringement. While criminal penalties are usually reserved for those engaged in piracy for profit, civil penalties, including an order to pay damages or an injunction to cease infringing, can be imposed for other types of infringement. Monetary damages could be awarded to the copyright owner for loss of income caused by the infringement or for other losses. Statutory damages for all infringements for all works involved are limited to $5,000 if the infringements are for a non-commercial purpose, or $20,000 for all infringements of each work involved when the infringements are for a commercial purpose. 

Generally, the person who actually infringes the rights of the copyright owner will be held liable for the infringement. In the absence of the fair dealing exception or a license, a student, staff member or faculty member who copies a copyright protected work (e.g., scans a book, photocopies an article) without permission will be held liable for that infringement. Staff sometimes copy materials at the request of others (e.g., a faculty member or a student). In that case, both the person who actually infringes copyright (the staff member) and the person who requested the staff member to so infringe (the faculty member or the student) can be held liable for the infringement. In addition, you may place liability on the University if as an employee you copy works in an infringing manner in the course of your employment. Employees are responsible for following all University policies.

In addition to potential liability, staff at the University Libraries, Archives, Bookstore, Centre for Educational Excellence, Communications and Marketing and Document Solutions have a professional responsibility to respect copyright law and may refuse to copy or print something if it is thought to be an infringement of copyright law.

What will happen if I don’t comply with the university’s copyright policies and licensing agreements?

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.

Who in the University is responsible for ensuring that faculty, staff and students comply with the University’s copyright policy?

Everyone. Faculty, staff and students should always seek to comply with the Copyright Act as a best practice of academic professionalism. You are only permitted to make lawful copies of works, and use works in lawful ways. Failure to comply with the Copyright Act could lead to personal liability, as well as liability for the University. Ensure that you use copyright protected materials appropriately. Advise students and colleagues to use copyright protected materials appropriately. Contact the Copyright Officer if you have questions.

How does the Canvas copyright survey work?

In order to comply with Copyright Policy R30.04 (Appendix D), each semester a random sample of instructors will be asked to complete one of two Copyright Provision Recordkeeping Surveys (Survey A and Survey B), which will record the various provisions under which they have posted copyright protected material in Canvas. To upload copyright protected material to Canvas, an instructor must either have the permission of the copyright holder or be using an eligible exception in the Copyright Act, such as fair dealing.

The Copyright Office is required by Appendix R30.04D Application of Appendix R30.04A (Fair Dealing Policy) to Learning Management Systems to collect statistics on faculty and staff use of copyright protected material in Canvas. The policy states:

"If content is uploaded or posted to an LMS by faculty members or their staff, the faculty or staff may be required to identify the reason that they are entitled to post each work or excerpt (e.g. permission obtained from the copyright holder, public domain, fair dealing, other exemption under the Copyright Act). For certain content posted to the LMS (e.g. classroom presentations containing excerpts from a number of works) multiple reasons could apply."

A small sample of Canvas courses will be randomly selected each semester, and those instructors will be asked to complete an anonymous web survey based on the materials uploaded to their Canvas courses. One survey (Survey A) will ask what types of materials (e.g., readings such as articles and book chapters, images such as photographs and maps, or audiovisual materials such as movie clips and sound recordings) the instructor has uploaded, how often these materials include copyright protected works, how the instructor finds such materials, and what copyright provisions (e.g. fair dealing, public domain, Library license) have allowed the instructor to copy these materials. The other survey (Survey B) will preselect a small number of uploaded files from the instructor's Canvas course, and will ask for the copyright provision(s) used to copy each specific file. Neither survey should take more than ten to fifteen minutes to complete.

This collection of statistics is a recordkeeping exercise which will show us how copyright protected materials are used on campus, and may also help us determine where more education or outreach may be required. This is not a compliance monitoring process. Both surveys are anonymous - we will not be contacting or "investigating" anyone based on their responses. Instructors will not be selected for either survey more than once per year.

Information about what constitutes fair dealing and how instructors can use copyright protected materials in their teaching can be found on the Copyright for Instructors at SFU section of the copyright website. Please also see the Copyright and Teaching Infographic, which concisely spells out how you can use copyright protected materials for teaching.

Further information about the survey and how to complete it is available on the Copyright Provision Recordkeeping Survey page. Please send all questions about the survey to the Copyright Office at copy@sfu.ca.

Copyright contacts

Is anyone available to help instructors obtain copyright permission?

The Bookstore obtains copyright permissions for course packs; the Library obtains permissions for its electronic collection of non-journal materials (e-books, streaming video, music, etc.) as well as journals and article indexes and databases; and the Centre for Online and Distance Education (CODE) obtains permission for fully on-line and distance education courses offered through that program. For other uses, you may obtain permission yourself by simply emailing or writing a letter to the copyright owner.

Who can I contact at SFU for help with creating a course pack?

For help creating a custom paper course pack for your course, including selecting materials (both copyright protected and otherwise), contact the SFU Bookstore.

How can I get more information about copyright?

See the pages for Instructors, Staff, Students or Authors and other creators on the Copyright website for FAQs, links and resources.

 

Note: The information obtained from or through this website is provided as guidelines for using works for educational purposes and is not intended to constitute legal advice. Contact copy@sfu.ca with any questions. The Copyright Officer is not a lawyer or legal expert in copyright law and is able to provide a professional and not a legal opinion. A professional opinion is offered for information purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal advice.

Creative Commons License
This work, the Simon Fraser University Copyright website, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise noted.