Copyright refers to the legal framework that protects the moral and economic rights of the creator of any literary and/or artistic work from the unauthorized use of their work.

Under the Copyright Act the creator retains the right to:

• Control the publication and reproduction of their work
• Receive renumeration
• Protect the integrity of their work

In Canada, copyright protection begins as soon as the work is created in a fixed manner.  Also, there are no requirements under the current law to register the work or obtain an international copyright symbol.

"Fair dealing" refers to the provision under the Copyright Act that allows the unauthorized use of any copyrighted material for the purpose of research, private study, criticism, review, education, parody or satire.

Canadian courts apply six criteria for determining whether a particular dealing is fair:

• The Purpose of the Dealing
• The Character of the Dealing
• The Amount of the Dealing
• Alternatives to the Dealing
• The Nature of the Work
• Effect of the Dealing on the Work

Tyndale has adopted the AUCC fair dealing policy and guidelines.

The Association of Universities and Colleges in Canada (AUCC) Fair Dealing Guidelines

It is considered fair dealing under copyright legislation to distribute a small excerpt from a book or a periodical to distribute to each student in a class.

If you would like to use one of the electronic resources available through the Tyndale libraries it is best to post links to where the students may obtain the readings rather than printing them out or posting a digital copy. Each database lists terms of use that tell you the uses you can make under the license with a particular database. License terms supercede fair dealing provisions. Some licenses prohibit posting on class sites. In these cases you must use linking.

A small excerpt is defined in the Tyndale Fair Dealing Policy as:

(a) up to 10% of a copyright-protected work (including a literary work, musical score, sound recording, and an audiovisual work)

(b) one chapter from a book

(c) a single article from a periodical

(d) an entire artistic work (including a painting, print, photograph, diagram, drawing, map, chart, and plan) from a copyright-protected work containing other artistic works

(e) an entire newspaper article or page

(f) an entire single poem or musical score from a copyright-protected work containing other poems or musical scores

(g) an entire entry from an encyclopedia, annotated bibliography, dictionary or similar reference work provided that in each case, no more of the work is copied than is required in order to achieve the allowable purpose.

Course packs are no longer sold at Tyndale. Instructors should post articles on their class site under the terms of fair dealing. If the amount surpasses what is allowed under fair dealing it is up to the instructor to seek permission from the copyright holder.

PLEASE NOTE: For items that can be found on one of the Tyndale libraries' licensed databases (i.e. Ebscohost etc.) it is best to link to articles rather than posting the whole article on a class website.  The terms of use differ with various online resources.

Fair dealing under the Copyright Act now includes digital copies.  The amount of a work permitted for copying is that same as for paper copies (see previous section).

Digital copies must only be transmitted to, made available from, posted to, or stored on a secure network.  Digital copies stored on a secure network must be segregated by course of study and only be made available to Tyndale students enrolled in a course and to Tyndale employees.

The following uses are permitted for digital copies of published works:

• Scanning a paper copy into digital format
• Transmitting a digital copy by electronic mail
• Transmission by a facsimile
• Storage of a digital copy to a secure network and storing it on a local storage device or medium
• Projecting an image using a computer or other device
• Displaying a digital copy on a computer or other device
• Posting a link or hyperlink to a digital copy
• Digital copies must be destroyed within 30 days after students receive their final grade for the course.

Digital copies must not be posted to or made publicly available on the Internet or other public network.

You would need to get permission from the copyright holder. Payment of royalty fees may be required. If you cannot do this you will need to find an alternative.

You may only post copyrighted material on the Internet if you are (a) the copyright holder yourself or (b) if you received written permission from the copyright holder to post the material on your site or (c) the material is in the public domain.

Much of the material posted on the Internet is copyrighted as well and includes postings to news groups, e-mail messages, images, photographs, music, video clips and computer software. Generally speaking, you would need to get permission from the owner -- that is, the person or organization that created the material - to use text, graphics, images, sound and video that have been created by others. Some Internet materials such as facts, information, titles, ideas, plots, short word combinations and works in the public domain are not protected by copyright.

Changes in Copyright Act of Canada in 2012 now permit the display of material from the Internet for educational purposes for an audience consisting mostly of students. Material that is not to be displayed should include an obvious statement prohibiting this, more than just a copyright symbol.

Students can retain materials if they were posted under fair dealing. There is a restruction for recorded lessons that use copyrighted material. Recorded lessons that are posted and contain copyrighted material need to be taken off the web site or destroyed thirty days after the evaluations for the course have been made.

If it falls under the terms of fair dealing you can distribute it.

The Copyright Act of Canada, amended in 2012 permits the showing of cinematographic works for educational purposes without seeking the permission of the copyright holder. Special rights are no longer required. Public performance rights are still needed for showings beyond educational classroom and home use.

For more information on Copyright at Tyndale, visit our Fair Dealing Policy and Guidelines or please contact the University Librarian.