Guides: Faculty Library Services: Copyright and Fair Dealing

This page contains the basics of Copyright and Fair Dealing for Faculty at MSVU.
For more information on copyright, or to see the Mount's Copyright and Fair Dealing policies, please visit the Copyright and Fair Dealing libguide.

What is Copyright?

Copyright literally means the right to copy. The Copyright Act grants a series of rights to the creators of works giving them the exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, distribute or sell their works. Only the copyright owner has the right to decide when and how the work is copied. In addition

Who Owns The Copyright in a Work?

Copyrights are usually held by:

The author/creator ONLY

The author/creator’s employer, if the work was created as part of a person’s job.

The author/creator AND a publisher (as agreed by the author)

The publisher ONLY (as agreed by the author)

Quick Guide for Copying

Use	Policy or Practice	Guideline
Class Handouts & Readings (digital or print)	MSVU Fair Dealing Policy	A single copy of a short excerpt per student
Projections & PowerPoint	Copyright Act Section 29.4(1)	You may reproduce a work in order to display it. Must be for the purpose of education or training. Must be displayed on the premises of an educational institution (on-campus classroom or MSVU Moodle course site) Any text or images must be properly cited!
Websites & Links	Crookes v. Newton, 2011 SCC 47, [2011] 3 S.C.R. 269	You do not need permission to link! “Linking & hyperlinking should never be seen as publication of the content to which they refer”. Practice ethical linking. Please do not link to illegal or infringing copies of copyrighted works.
Music, Video/Film (shown in the classroom)	Copyright Act Section 29.5(b) & (d)	You may conduct a performance of a sound recording, a performer’s performance in a sound recording, or a cinematographic work. Must be for the purpose of education or training. Must be performed on the premises of an educational institution. Must be performed to an audience consisting of students. The sound recording or cinematographic work cannot be an illegal or infringing copy!
Music, Video/Film, (digital copy posted to Moodle)	MSVU Fair Dealing Policy	Short excerpts. For larger amounts, please consider linking to a legal copy in streaming format.
Images, Charts, Figures, etc.	MSVU Fair Dealing Policy	An entire artistic work (including a painting, print, photograph, diagram, drawing, map, chart, and plan) from a copyright-protected work containing other artistic works. Content must be properly cited!
Books & Ebooks	MSVU Fair Dealing Policy	Short excerpts. For larger amounts, please consider linking to a legal copy in e-format, or placing the item on reserves.
Journals, Magazines, etc.	MSVU Fair Dealing Policy	A single article from a periodical per student For larger amounts, please consider linking to a legal copy in e-format, or placing the item on reserves.
Mashups	Copyright Act Section 29.21	It is not an infringement of copyright for an individual to use existing works in the creation of a new work . Must be solely for non-commercial purposes. You must cite all sources used. Do not use material acquired through a contract that prevents using the item in a mashup (e.g. iTunes, iStock Photo) Do not break a digital lock to use the material (e.g. you can’t rip a DVD that has encoding that prevents copying) The mashup cannot be substitute for, or does not have a substantial adverse effect, financial or otherwise, on existing works.