Copyright in Canada

Good news: you can use copyrighted works for teaching, research, and other educational purposes—as long as your use qualifies under the Fair Dealing provision of the Canadian Copyright Act. 

To determine whether a use is permitted, two tests must be passed: 

First, the “dealing” must be for a purpose stated in the Copyright Act: research, private study, criticism, review, news reporting, education, satire, and parody. Educational use of a copyright-protected work passes the first test. 
Second, the dealing must be “fair.” The Supreme Court outlined six factors to help assess fairness: 

• Purpose of the dealing – Is it non-commercial, like teaching or research? 
• Character of the dealing – Is the material shared broadly or with a limited group (e.g., students in a course)? 
• Amount of the dealing – Are you using only what’s necessary (e.g., a chapter, not the whole book)? 
• Alternatives to the dealing – Could you use a different work or a non-copyrighted source? 
• Nature of the work – Was it published or intended to be shared? 
• Effect of the dealing – Will your use harm the market for the original work? 

What counts as a “Short Excerpt”? 

The Fair Dealing Policy for Educational Institutions defines short excerpts as any of the following: 

• Up to 10% of a work 
• One chapter from a book 
• One article from a journal or periodical 
• A complete artistic work (e.g., photo, diagram, chart) from a larger work 
• A full newspaper article or page 
• An entire poem or song from a collection 
• A full entry from a reference work (e.g., dictionary, encyclopedia) 
• When more than one of these applies, you may use the option that allows for the largest permissible portion. 

💡 Reminder: Only copy what is necessary to achieve your purpose. When in doubt, contact the Learning Commons.

Check out this interactive video that will give you the chance to test your understanding of the fair dealing provision using real-life scenarios.

📘 Copyright and Instruction: What Educators Need to Know 

Understanding Section 29.4 of the Copyright Act

✅ What You Can Do Without Permission:

1. Reproduce or Display a Work for Teaching Purposes

• You can copy or show a work (e.g., a diagram, image, or text) on school premises to support instruction or training.

• Applies to in-person teaching environments.

2. Use a Work in a Test or Exam

• You can copy, translate, perform, or broadcast a work to students on-site if it’s necessary for a test or exam.

• This includes materials like:

  • Articles or book excerpts in an exam

  • Audio or video clips for language comprehension tests

🚫 When These Rules Don’t Apply:

❗ If the Work Is Commercially Available in a Suitable Format

• If a version is available for purchase or license (e.g., a DVD, eBook, or online streaming rights), you must use or buy that version.

• Exception: Manual copying (like writing on a chalkboard) is still allowed even if the work is commercially available.

📌 Quick Tips for Educators:

• ✔ Always check if the work is available through the library, licensing agreements, or educational platforms.

• ✔ Manual display (like writing lyrics or formulas by hand) is more flexible than digital copying.

• ✔ These exceptions apply only to activities on campus or institutional premises.

🛑 Not Covered:

• Copying entire textbooks or streaming full movies not licensed for classroom use.

• Sharing copyrighted material with students off-premises or online unless licensed.

Need help determining if a work is commercially available or covered by a license?
📩 Contact the Learning Commons for assistance.

Copyright protects literary, artistic, dramatic and musical works, as well as sound recordings, performances, and communication signals, published in a variety of formats, ranging from books, articles, posters, manuals and graphs, to CDs, DVDs, software, databases, and websites.

In Canada, copyright protection is applied to a work automatically when it is created and generally continues for 70 years after the author’s death. This aligns with current copyright terms in the United States and in many parts of Europe. This general rule can differ depending on factors such as the type of work, the manner of publication, and the date of creation/publication.

There are many online resources to help you determine if a work is still in copyright in Canada. Once a work is no longer protected by copyright, it is said to be in the Public Domain.

The University of Alberta's Public domain flowchart and the University of British Columbia's Public Domain Webpage are both clear and detailed. 

Use of a work in Canada is governed by the Canadian law and generally covered by the Canadian Copyright Act.