Disclaimer: the content on this page intended for informational purposes on Copyright Law only. Tyndale University College & Seminary makes no claim that the content of this page is a subsitute for legal advice, which should be sought in cases where the application of Canadian copyright law is unclear.

What is Copyright Law?
 

Copyright law is the legal protection of literary, dramatic, artistic, and musical works, sound recordings, peformances, and communication signals.

Copyright law in Canada provides the creators of these works with the legal right to control the use of their creations as well as the legal right to be be paid for their creations. In Canada, someone’s work is “copyrighted” as soon as he or she creates work and there is no need for the creator to register his or her work with the copyright office. This is what is meant by “Owner’s Rights”.

Copyright law also allows limited exceptions to the rights of the creators for users, such as educators, to access and use copyrighted materials. This is what is meant by “User’s Rights”.

As such, copyright law can then be seen as a system of checks and balances between the rights of the owners of copyrighted works and the rights of the users to access copyrighted works.

As a teacher, why should I care about Copyright Law in Canada?
 

Because educators and school boards alike across Canada are subject to copyright law in terms of how copyrighted materials are to be used on school premises; these materials include, print materials, audio-visual materials, digital content, etc. that will be used for classroom purposes.

What are my “user rights” as a public school teacher under Canadian copyright law?

There are three mechanisms that allow educators to make use of certain copyrighted materials without infringing Canadian copyright law: the Canada Copyright Act; the institution’s Access Copyright License; and “Fair Dealing.

Canada Copyright Act

Under the Canada Copyright Act, teachers may do any one of the following so long as they are done so for the purposes of education or training, and, are done so on the school premises:

• to make a manual reproduction of a work onto a dry-erase board, flip chart, or other similar surface intended for displaying handwritten material
• to make a copy of a work for the purpose of projection using an overhead projector or a similar device such as a LCD, overhead, opaque, or slide projector, provided the work is used for the purpose of education and training and is not already available in a commercial format
• to reproduce, translate, or perform in public on the premises a work or other subject matter as required for a test or examination (not applicable if the work is commercially available in another medium appropriate for the purpose)
• to communicate by telecommunication a work or other subject matter as required for a test or examination (not applicable if the work is commercially available in another medium appropriate for the purpose)
• to perform a work, required for a test or examination, in public by a group consisting primarily of students on the premises (the audience must consist primarily of students, teachers, or other people directly responsible for setting the curriculum)
• to play a sound recording of a work required for a test or examination (the audience must consist primarily of students, teachers, or other people directly responsible for setting the curriculum)
• to play a broadcast, required for a test or examination, at the time of its communication to the public (the audience must consist primarily of students, teachers, or other people directly responsible for setting the curriculum)
• to make a single copy of a news program or a news commentary program, excluding documentaries, for the purpose of playing the copy for students (the institution, however, must either destroy the copy or pay the applicable royalties within a year of making the copy)
• to make a single copy of a non-news program to decide whether to perform the copy for educational or training purposes (recording can only be kept for 30 days before royalties are payable; records must be kept)
• to play a copy of a news or non-news program (must be played for education or training purposes, on the premises, to an audience consisting primarily of students, if the institution pays royalties; records must be kept)
• to copy and perform extracts from a work procted by copyright, unless the part of that work is deemed highly significant and/or valuable (courts make the final determination)
• to copy or perform works whose author(s) died more than 50 years ago (though the use of translations or annotations of such works is not permitted)
• to copy the text of Federal and Ontario statutes, regulations, and court decisions without permission
• to copy and perform extracts from a work protected by copyright, unless the part is considered “highly significant” or “valuable” (the courts would make the final determination)

Access Copyright License

An “Access Copyright License”, which is purchased by an educational institution or elementary and secondary school system, is a license that provides permission to educational institutions to make photocopies of printed materials.

The Access Copyright license, teachers may make hard copies, for school purposes, of

• excerpts of up to 10 % of books, journals, magazines and newspapers

The 10 % rule may be exceeded in the following instances:

• an entire chapter of a book comprises 20% or less of a book
• an entire article or page from a newspaper, magazine or journal
• an entire short story, play, essay or poem from a book, periodical, or anthology
• an entire entry from a reference work
• an entire reporduction of an artistic work from a publication
• large-print material to accommodate the perceptually disabled, published in Canada
• in some cases, as specified in the licence, out-of-print books

At this time, Access Copyright licenses do not cover government publications; published work cards; assignment sheets; tests; examination papers available for purchase; printed materials designed for one-time use (i.e. workbooks and activity books); instruction manuals; teachers’ guides; sheet music; and copying by means of recording devices.

 “Fair Dealing”
 

Under the “Fair Dealing” clause in the Canada Copyright Act, a teacher may:

• make a single copy of works, such as articles or photographs, protected by copyright for private study, research, criticism, review, or news reporting under the sections of the Copyright Act that allow such uses of copyright material – referred to as fair dealing

Are there any other mechanisms out there that would allow me as a public school teacher to make use of materials without infringing on Canadian copyright law?

Yes. There are three other mechanisms that would allow educators to make use of materials without infringing on Canadian copyright law:  public domain; creative commons; permissions from the author.

Public Domain
 

Teachers are allowed to copy or perform works whose author(s) died more than 50 years ago, unless the work is a translation or an annotation.

There are a number of sites that allow teachers and users to access digitized copies of works that are now considered part of the public domain.  These include:

Christian Classics Ethereal Library

DailyLit

Internet Archive

Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg Canada

Creative Commons
 

Creative commons is a body of work that is available to the public for free and legal sharing, use, repurposing, and remixing (i.e. open access journals; certain lesson planning and activity file sites; etc.).

Please note: there are different kinds of creative commons licenses and they may differ from organization to organization. For more information on the different kinds of creative commons licenses out there, visit http://creativecommons.org

Permission from the Author
 

An educator may also use any work protected by copyright with permission of the copyright owner, including works that already come with the author(s)’s permission to copy (i.e. blackline masters, other reproducibles).

And what about sites on the internet and other digital content?
 

You will need to locate the “Copyright Statement” on the website in order to determine the rules and restrictions regarding the use of the content on the website. If there is no copyright statement on the site, you will need to obtain permission from the creator of the site to use the content.

Where else can I find information on Canadian copyright and how it applies to teachers in Ontario?
 

The following websites contain information on Canadian copyright and how it applies to teachers in the public school boards across Canada.

Access Copyright Canada

Canada Copyright Act

Canadian Copyright for Teachers

Council of Ministers of Education Canada

Be sure to read the document “Copyright matters Canada: some key questions and answers for teachers” from the Council of Ministers of Education Canada.

Educational Rights Collective of Canada