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Copyright & Fair Dealing

Course Material Sharing Websites/Networks

Coursehero (course material sharing websites)

It has come to the University's attention that there is a website known as Coursehero which students have been using to upload course materials. If you encounter this on Coursehero or some other website and do not want your materials posted, a memo from the former Vice President Academic was sent to faculty outlining steps to take in these situations. The statement recommended by legal counsel to include on course syllabi is as follows:

The materials you receive and submit for this course are to be used for this course only. You do not have permission to upload the course materials you receive to any external websites. If you require further clarification, please consult directly with your professor.

For questions or more information, please contact the University Librarian. 

What You Can Do to Retain Your Rights to Your Published Works

During the process of getting published, many academics transfer their copyright and lose the right to share/copy their own work. Here is what you can do to retain your author rights:

1. Publish in journals that support open access e.g. those listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).

2. Contribute your work to Mount Saint Vincent University's E-Commons.

3. Retain your copyright and understand your copyright options:

  • Publishers typically require authors to sign over their copyright though authors can often retain some rights to their work to make it more widely available. When negotiating publishing contract terms, consider altering the text to ensure open access for research and teaching. See the SPARC Canadian Author Addendum sample text.
  • Investigate other licensing options such as those afforded by Creative Commons licenses that provide a flexible range of protections and freedoms for authors, artists, and educators.
  • Be aware of publisher copyright and self-archiving policies before you publish. The SHERPA/RoMEO site provides a listing of publishers' copyright conditions as they relate to authors archiving their work on-line.

4. Get involved in reshaping scholarly communication:

  • Use your influence as author, editor, scholarly society member, and reviewer. Encourage reasonable journal pricing and discourage alliances with publishers who charge exorbitant prices. Use your position to influence publishers to promote reasonable pricing and open access.