Copyright – What is it?

Copyright subsists in literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works. The Copyright Act of Canada allows only the owner of a work full copyright, or the exclusive right to reproduce all or a substantial part of a work. Individuals are prohibited from making copies of all or substantial parts of copyright works without the consent of the owner of copyright. Any unauthorized copying of such works may infringe copyright. However, in some cases and for some activities there are exceptions to this.

Disclaimer:

• St. Mary’s University College (StMU) and the StMU Library are not responsible for copyright infringement by an individual using a photocopy machine or scanner installed on the StMU campus.
• The Library provides all StMU users with access to a wide variety of materials for personal research and study. However, this DOES NOT mean that you have a licence to photocopy and distribute entire works, regardless of whether it is a book, journal, DVD, or CD. The following policies / guidelines on this page provide information on copyright law and what kind of copying/reprographic practices are generally acceptable under law.

The Copyright Law of Canada

• Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42)
  
  The Copyright Act of Canada is Canada's federal statute governing copyright law in Canada. The Copyright Act of Canada which was first passed in 1921 and substantially amended in 1988 and 1997.
  
  [Full text of Copyright Act of Canada is available at Justice Laws Website and CanLII]
  
  
• Fair Dealing in the Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42 1997, c. 29, s. 1 & 2)
  
  Fair dealing is a limitation and exception to the exclusive right granted by copyright law to the author of a creative work. The Copyright Act does not contain a simple formula that sets out exactly what may or may not be copied without permission or payment. Rather, Fair Dealing requires the exercise of judgement." However, it does enumerate sets of possible defences against an action for infringement of an exclusive right of copyright. The fair dealing clauses of the Canadian Copyright Act allow users to engage in certain activities related to research, private study, criticism, review, or news reporting. With respect to these activities the user must make a full citation. That is the user must mention the source of the material, along with the name of the author, performer, maker, or broadcaster for the dealing to be fair.
  
  [Full text of the fair dealing clauses of the Canadian Copyright Act is available at Justice Laws Website]
  
  
• Educational Institutions & the Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42 1997, c. 29, s. 4 - 5)
  
  This section of the Copyright Act determines copyright exceptions for persons acting under the authority of an education institution (librarian, instructor/faculty member, etc.)
  
  [Full text of the fair dealing clauses of the Canadian Copyright Act is available at Justice Laws Website]
  
  
• Libraries, Archives and Museums & the Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42 1997, c. 30.1, s. 1 - 4)
  
  This section of the Copyright Act determines that copyright exceptions for persons acting under the authority of an a library, archive or museum (librarian, archivist, curator, etc.).
  
  [Full text of the fair dealing clauses of the Canadian Copyright Act is available at Justice Laws Website]
  
  
• Libraries, Archives & Museums in Educational Institutions
  & the Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42 1997, c. 30.4, s. 1 - 4)
  
  This section of the Copyright Act clarifies and makes certain that the exceptions to infringement of copyright, as defined under c. 30.1, also apply to libraries, archives and museums that form part of an educational institution.
  
  [Full text of the fair dealing clauses of the Canadian Copyright Act is available at Justice Laws Website]
  
  
• Machines Installed in Educational Institutions, Libraries, Archives and Museums & the Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42 1997, c. 30.4, s. 1 - 4)
  
  This section of the Copyright Act defines the copyright exceptions and provisions governing the use of reporgrahic technology in an educational institution or a library.
  
  [Full text of the fair dealing clauses of the Canadian Copyright Act is available at Justice Laws Website]
  

Case Law on Copyright

• CCH Canadian Limited v. Law Society of Upper Canada, [2004] 1 S.C.R. 339, 2004 SCC 13
  
  This is a landmark Supreme Court of Canada case establishing the bounds of fair dealing in Canadian copyright law. A publishing group (CCH Canadian Limited, Carswell Thomson Professional Publishing & Canada Law Book Inc.) sued the Law Society of Upper Canada for copyright infringement for providing photocopy services to researchers. The Court unanimously held that the Law Society's practice fell within the bounds of fair dealing.
  
  [Full text of Supreme Court of Canada decision available at LexUM and CanLII]

1. Subject to paragraph 3 below, up to 10% of a Published Work, other than a textbook produced primarily for the post secondary education market, or the following, whichever is greater:

(a) an entire chapter from a book provided that it does not exceed 20% of the book;
(b) an entire article from a periodical publication;
(c) an entire short story, play, poem or essay from a book or periodical publication;
(d) an entire entry from a reference book, such as an annotated bibliography, dictionary, or encyclopedia;
(e) an entire reproduction of an artistic work from a book or periodical publication; and
(f) a single musical score from a book or periodical publication.

2. Subject to paragraph 3 below, up to 5% of a textbook produced primarily for the post secondary education market, or the following, whichever is greater:

(a) an entire chapter from a textbook provided that it does not exceed 10% of the textbook;
(b) an entire short story, play, poem or essay from the textbook provided that it does not exceed 10% of the textbook; and
(c) an entire reproduction of an artistic work or a single musical score from the textbook provided that it does not exceed 10% of the textbook.

3. No copies may be made of the following:

(a) any of the works referred to in sections 1(b) to 3(f) of these guidelines where the publication containing the work does not contain other works. For example, no copy may be made of a play from a publication containing the play but no other work;
(b) unpublished works;
(c) proprietary workbooks, work cards, assignment sheets, tests and examination papers:
(d) instruction manuals;
(e) newsletters with restricted circulation intended to be restricted to a fee paying clientele; or
(f) business cases which are made available for purchase.

With respect to Canadian Copyright law and StMU Library Course Reserves the Library operates according to the following policy on permissible & non-permissible practices as well as additional requirements.

Placing Materials on Course Reserve

For the 2011/12 academic year the Library will not accept photocopies of copyrighted materials to be placed on Course Reserve. Placing photocopies materials on course reserve cannot be used in lieu of obtaining permissions or ordering Course Packs from the StMU Bookstore. In lieu of placing photocopies on Course Reserve there are alternatives:

• If you have materials that you would normally photocopy for placement on Course Reserve please submit the title in question to your Area Chair to be placed on the order list submitted to the Library for acquisitions for the collection.
• If the materials that you wish to place on reserve are available as part of one of the Library's electronic journal subscriptions, or the title is available freely online, you can create your own course reserve reading list in a Course Moodle or MyStMU course page. Please make sure that you ONLY supply the URL links to actual articles. Please do not post actual copies of articles of materials in question.

NOTE: Ordering materials for the Library collection can take some time. Most order, if not delayed or back-ordered, take about 4-5 months for delivery. Please plan ahead and allow sufficient time for processing of orders.

DISCLAIMER: The Course Reserves policy is based on the AUCC Fair Dealing Policy . However, it has not yet been vetted by StMU Dean's Council or Academic Council.

Permissible

Faculty members may request the following materials be placed in the Reserve Collection:

• original items/titles (books/monographs) from the library’s circulating collections, instructors’ personal collections (including photocopied material of class notes, syllabi & old exams, etc.);
• your own lecture notes, sample questions/exams are Reserve-friendly; and
• sample student work, with signed permission of the author/student.

NOTE: Posting URL's/hyperlinks to electronic resources already licensed by the Library and to resources posted for free access on the internet IS legal & permissible under current copyright statute. However, it is advisable that such "reserve reading lists" of links to articles be posted on a course page behind the login wall of the StMU Portal.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: Where necessary and in lieu of photocopies, it is sometimes possible that original items may be rush purchased by the Library to place on Reserve.

NOT Permissible

• Material that is still under copyright material normally requires permission from the copyright holder before photocopies can be placed on the StMU Library Course Reserve. Currently, and for the 2011/12 academic year the Library is not accepting photocopies of copyrighted materials to be placed on Course Reserve.
• Placing photocopies of materials which are in StMU Library's print collection is not allowed. Instead, please apply to have the entire volume placed on Course Reserve.
• Placing photocopies of materials which are in StMU Library's electronic resources collection is not allowed. It is recommended that course instructors create a course webpage in the MySTMU portal and link directly to those materials which are online. For more information on how to do this, please consult Linking to Online Materials.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: As of 2011 September 01, St. Mary's University College will no longer operate under the Access Copyright Interim Tariff. ALL material used in print course packs and posted on Course Management Systems, such as the MySTMU portal or Moodle should have required permissions before using copyright material.

CONTENT UNDER DEVELOPMENT

Whether you are a student, researcher, administrator or an instructor, copyright affects you. To find out more about best practices and "do's" and "don'ts" consult the Library's FAQs on different aspects of Intellectual Property rights in an academic context:

• Copyright & Intellectual Property;
• Copyright for StMU Faculty & Staff;
• Copyright for Students;
• Public Performance Rights;