Using copyright protected materials for teaching at SFU

SFU employees are responsible for abiding by Canada's Copyright Act and the University's copyright policies. These guidelines apply to teaching at SFU only. All works copied must be legally obtained. Works must be properly cited.

Licenses for online resources govern how they can be used. See Article Databases and A-Z Journals on the SFU Library website.

Using a short excerpt? Follow these fair dealing guidelines

Under fair dealing you may copy or distribute a short excerpt of a copyright protected work for the purposes of research, private study, education, parody, satire, criticism, review or news reporting, as a:

• class handout,
• email message,
• posting in Canvas, or
• part of a course pack sold through the SFU Bookstore.

Copying multiple short excerpts from the same copyright protected work, with the intention of reproducing amounts beyond the fair dealing limits, is prohibited.

Textual materials

You can copy up to 10% of the work OR

• 1 chapter from a book (Note: you may not copy an entire poem or short story from a collection),
• 1 article from a journal issue,
• 1 article or page from a newspaper issue, or
• 1 entry from a reference work (e.g. encyclopedia, dictionary).

Audio and video

You can copy up to 10% of the work OR 1 track from an album, as long as you are not breaking a technological protection measure (TPM). Examples of TPMs include passwords and regional encoding.

Images

You can copy 1 image from a compilation (e.g. coffee table book, atlas) OR up to 10% of a stand-alone image (e.g. painting, poster, wall map). You cannot copy an entire stand-alone image.

Internet materials

You can copy a short excerpt up to the fair dealing limits according to the type of media.

Want to use more? Use one of these exceptions from the Copyright Act

Textual materials

You can reproduce the entire work for display in the classroom or for use in exams if a copy in the required format is not readily commercially available.

Audio and video

You can play the entire work (e.g. DVD, CD) in the classroom.

Images

You can reproduce the entire image for display in the classroom or for use in exams if a copy in the required format is not readily commercially available.

Internet materials

You can reproduce an entire work from the Internet as long as you are not breaking a technological protection measure and there is no "clearly visible notice" prohibiting copying.

If you don't see your use on this chart contact the SFU Copyright Office for assistance (copy@sfu.ca) and visit copyright.sfu.ca.

SFU employees have the responsibility to abide by Canada’s Copyright Act and by the University’s own copyright policies.

This decision tree will help you determine whether you can use a copyright protected work in the way you would like to.

Is the work protected by copyright? 

Material not protected by copyright includes material in the public domain and material lacking in creativity or originality such as data, facts or ideas. The FAQs at copyright.sfu.ca can help you.

• Yes (go to next step)
• No (use the work)

Are you the creator of the work? 

If so, do you own copyright in the work? Or have you retained the right to use it for this purpose, or to use a different version (e.g. a pre-print)?

• Yes (use the work or the specific version allowed)
• No (go to next step)

What do you want to do with the work? Is the work licensed for this type of use? 

(E.g. Library license, Open Access, Creative Commons)

• Yes (use the work and comply with conditions of license)
• No (go to next step)

Is there a licensing agreement or statement specifically disallowing this use of the work? 

(E.g. website terms of use, restrictions on Library license)

• Yes (find a different source for the same work without the restriction OR go to "If you are unable to use this material")
• No (go to next step)

Is the work protected by a technological protection measure (TPM)? 

(E.g. password or download-blocker)

• Yes (find a different source for the same work without TPM (e.g. scan a print version instead of downloading a pdf) OR go to "If you are unable to use this material")
• No (go to next step)

Does fair dealing or another Copyright Act exception apply? 

See the Instructors section at copyright.sfu.ca for what you can do with copyright protected works for teaching purposes, or contact the Copyright Office (copy@sfu.ca) with any questions.

• Yes (use the work and comply with conditions in the Act)
• No (go to next step)

If you are unable to use this material

You could:

• ask the copyright holder for permission to use the work in this way,
• adapt the material, repurpose the data in your own way or paraphrase (with attribution in each case),
• provide a link to the work instead,
• remove the work, or
• use a different work.

All works must be legally obtained. Works must be properly cited. 07/2019.

Employees of SFU own the copyright in materials they create, unless a contract or policy says otherwise. The copyright in teaching materials specifically belongs to the creator (SFU Policy R30.03 Intellectual Property Policy). Copyright protects written works, artworks, music, and film/video.

Add a copyright statement to let people know you own copyright in the work, e.g., “©2022 Your Name.”

If you want to share your work and encourage others to use and build upon it, consider creating an open educational resource (OER).

What does this mean when I’m working with another instructor or TA?

Who owns copyright when multiple creators collaborate on a new work? Creators jointly own copyright.

Who owns copyright when you build upon or adapt someone else's work? Original creator owns copyright in their work; you own copyright in parts you create/add.

Who owns copyright when you include someone else's work (e.g., images, poems, video clips, maps)? Original creator owns copyright in that work.

What do I need to know about using someone else’s work in my teaching?

• Use the Copyright Decision Tree plus the Copyright Infographic to understand what you can and can’t copy for teaching and how you can use it.
• Use openly-licensed work such as work with a Creative Commons license. Open licenses provide up-front permission to use a work in a variety of ways.
• Use Library e-reserves or link to articles, eBooks, and other resources licensed by SFU Library (details here).
• Cite the work you use, and indicate if you made any changes to the work (e.g., “Adapted from A. Author. (2022). Article. Journal 1(1), p. 1.”).

What can/can’t students do with my work?

• Students have fair dealing rights, for example they can download or print out your slides or other teaching materials to study from or to annotate.
• Students can take notes from your lectures; they own copyright in notes taken in their own words.
• Students don’t have the right to share your materials outside the class without your permission.
  • If your materials have been posted on a tutoring site (or anywhere else online), contact the Copyright Office for assistance having them removed.​​​​​
• Use our syllabus statement to inform students of their rights and responsibilities.