Copyright,Fair Dealing,
and the Classroom
What Teachers Canand Cannot Do
September 2016

About this presentation
This presentation:
1. explains how to use the Fair
Dealing Guidelines in schools;
2. describes the copyright
responsibilities of school
principals, teachers, and staff;
3. describes how to complywith copyright law.

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Copyright in schools has changed
You need to know that:
the Copyright Act was amended by Parliament in June
2012, and a Supreme Court decision respecting “fairdealing” was made in July 2012; andteachers and students now have new rights andobligations under copyright law and the “fair dealing”
provision.

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The important caveat
If you infringe copyright, you, your school, and yourschool board can be held responsible for damages.

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“Fair dealing” and the classroom
Did you know that “fair dealing” allows teachers toincorporate short excerpts from copyright‐protected
works into their class lessons?
Did you know that “short excerpts” can be taken fromresources such as books, movies, and CDs for yourstudents?

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The fair dealing provision (1)The fair dealing provision in the Copyright Act permits useof a copyright‐protected work without permission from thecopyright owner or payment of copyright royalties,provided the dealing is “fair.”
New amendments to the Copyright Act made “education” afair‐dealing purpose.
A Supreme Court decision clarified that teachers can copy orcommunicate “short excerpts” from a copyright‐protected
work for students in their classrooms.

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The fair dealing provision (2)It permits the use of “short excerpts” for educational
purposes – as clarified by the Supreme Court.
“Short excerpts” are described in the Fair DealingGuidelines.

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What “fair dealing” is not
Fair dealing does not mean that a teacher can makeunlimited use of any copyright‐protected work withoutpermission or payment.

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Guidelines now established
The Canadian Teachers’ Federation, the Canadian School
Boards Association, and the Council of Ministers ofEducation, Canada (CMEC), have developed andimplemented guidelines to:
explain what teachers may do without copyrightpermission; andclarify when permission is needed to use a copyright‐
protected work in their classrooms.

9Fair Dealing Guidelines (1)1. Teachers, instructors, professors, and staff members in
non‐profit educational institutions may communicate
and reproduce, in paper or electronic form, shortexcerpts from a copyright‐protected work for thepurposes of research, private study, criticism, review,news reporting, education, satire, and parody.

10Fair Dealing Guidelines (2)2. Copying or communicating short excerpts from a
copyright‐protected work under these Fair Dealing
Guidelines for the purpose of news reporting, criticism,or review should mention the source and, if given in thesource, the name of the author or creator of the work.

11Fair Dealing Guidelines (3)3. A single copy of a short excerpt from a copyright‐
protected work may be provided or communicated toeach student enrolled in a class or coursea) as a class handout;b) as a posting to a learning‐ or course‐management
system that is password protected or otherwise
restricted to students of a school or postsecondary
educational institution;c) as part of a course pack.
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Fair Dealing Guidelines (4.1)
4. A short excerpt means:a) up to 10 per cent of a copyright‐protected work
including a literary work, musical score, soundrecording, and an audiovisual work);b) one chapter from a book;c) a single article from a periodical;

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Fair Dealing Guidelines (4.2)
4. A short excerpt means:d) an entire artistic work (including a painting, print,photograph, diagram, drawing, map, chart, andplan) 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, annotatedbibliography, dictionary, or similar reference work.
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Fair Dealing Guidelines (5)5. Copying or communicating multiple short excerpts fromthe same copyright‐protected work with the intention of
copying or communicating substantially the entire work
is prohibited.

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Fair Dealing Guidelines (6)6. Copying or communicating that exceeds the limits inthese Fair Dealing Guidelines may be referred to asupervisor or other person designated by theeducational institution for evaluation. An evaluation ofwhether the proposed copying or communication ispermitted under fair dealing will be made based on all
relevant circumstances.

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Fair Dealing Guidelines (7)7. Any fee charged by the educational institution forcommunicating or copying a short excerpt from a
copyright‐protected work must be intended to cover
only the costs of the institution, including overhead
costs.

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A “safe harbour”
The Fair Dealing Guidelines describe a “safe harbour” —uses within the Fair Dealing Guidelines limits that can, in
the opinion of legal counsel, be defended as fair dealing.

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Beyond the limits…
Any use of copyright‐protected works beyond the limitsof the Fair Dealing Guidelines — outside the “safeharbour” — requires an evaluation of whether theproposed use requires copyright permission.

19What needs to be done? (1)The Fair Dealing Guidelines need to be incorporated
into school practices.
Teachers and students need to be aware of and follow
the Fair Dealing Guidelines.
Teachers should refer to the on‐line copyright tool:
www.copyrightdecisiontool.ca

20What needs to be done? (2)The Fair Dealing Guidelines
should be posted in schools
next to copying equipment,such as printing stations,photocopiers, and scanners.

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Additional users’ rights (1)In addition to fair dealing, the Copyright Act provides
additional rights to teachers and students to use copyright‐
protected works for educational purposes without
permission and without paying a copyright royalty.
The greatest change to the law as a result of the amended
Copyright Act is the right to use “publicly available”
Internet materials for educational purposes.

22Additional users’ rights (2)“Publicly available” materials are those posted on‐line bycontent creators and copyright owners without any
technological protection measures such as a password,
encryption system, or similar technology intended to limit
access or distribution, or without a clearly visible noticeprohibiting educational use.
There are other important changes to copyright law thatteachers need to be aware of.

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Use of Internet materials (1)The Internet amendment in the copyright law permits
teachers and students to access publicly available
Internet materials in the process of teaching andlearning.
Routine classroom uses may be made of publicly
available Internet materials, such as incorporating
publicly available on‐line text or images into homeworkassignments, performing music or plays on‐line forpeers, exchanging materials with teachers or peers, orreposting a work on a restricted‐access course Web site.
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Use of Internet materials (2)The Internet amendment respects the rights of thosecreators and other copyright holders who post materials
on‐line for commercial purposes.
Copyright owners can restrict use of their on‐line materials
by placing a clearly visible notice specifically prohibiting
educational use.

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What else can teachers do?
The Copyright Act also permits teachers and students to: record news programs or news‐commentary programs
for later viewing by students;
 show audiovisual works in the classroom; use digital displays such as interactive whiteboards(subject to the commercial availability rule) inclassrooms;
 record lessons to be made available for asynchronousviewing by students; and obtain an interlibrary loan copy of a copyright‐protected
work that the school library has made using digitaltechnology.
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Users’ rights in
Copyright Matters!
Educational users’ rights are fully described in theupdated booklet, Copyright Matters!
Copyright Matters! is a joint publication of the CanadianTeachers’ Federation, the Canadian School Boards
Association, and the Council of Ministers of Education,
Canada (CMEC).
Copyright Matters! provides teachers with user‐friendly
information on how copyright law relates to the use ofresources on and off school premises.
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Copyright Matters!
This booklet is available frommany sources, including
 www.cmec.ca/copyrightinfo
It can be downloaded in English
and French for free.

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Copyright permission may be required
If permission from the copyright owner is required,school principals, teachers, and school‐board staff areresponsible for obtaining it.
A process for obtaining permission and paying atransaction fee needs to be followed if the use does not
fall within the Fair Dealing Guidelines or a users’ rightdescribed in Copyright Matters!

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When permission is required
When an intended use of a copyright‐protected work falls
outside the Fair Dealing Guidelines or a users’ right in theCopyright Act, prior written permission from thecopyright owner or copyright collective, and a transaction
fee may be required.
In these instances, teachers should consult the school
principal or a designated staff person at the school‐board
office to assess whether permission is needed and obtain
permission if necessary.
If this process has not been followed, there is a risk thatthe use is contrary to law, and to proceed with theplanned use is copyright infringement.
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Steps to obtain copyright permission
1. Determine if the school, school board, or ministry/department
has a licence to use the copyright‐protected work.
2. If the school, school board, or ministry/department does nothave a licence, consult the Fair Dealing Guidelines to determine
whether the use is permitted under fair dealing.
3. If the use is not permitted under fair dealing, determine
whether any other users’ right in the Copyright Act permits theuse (refer to Copyright Matters! ).
4. If the use is not permitted under a users’ right in the CopyrightAct, permission to use the copyright‐protected works isrequired.
5. If you are unable to get permission, you cannot use the work.
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Important take‐aways
The Fair Dealing Guidelines need to be incorporated into
school practices.
All teachers should access www.copyrightdecisiontool.ca
All teachers should have a copy of Copyright Matters!
A process for obtaining copyright permission isnecessary and needs to be followed.

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Copyright compliance

Principals AND teachers
are responsible forcopyright compliance.

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A principal’s responsibility (1)1.

Review copyright responsibilities with teachers andstaff at least once a year.

2.

Post the Fair Dealing Guidelines and the poster
prohibiting the copying of consumables near all school
photocopiers, scanners, printing stations, and otherdevices used to reproduce copyright‐protectedmaterial.

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A principal’s responsibility (2)3.

Provide teachers and staff with copies of the Fair
Dealing Guidelines and Copyright Matters!

4.

Seek school‐board or ministry/department guidance
when it is not clear whether copyright permission isrequired.

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A teacher’s responsibility
1.

Set an example of respect for copyright for your students.

2.

Know and respect the limits of the Fair Dealing Guidelines.

3.

Know your rights and obligations under copyright law.

4.

Know the procedure for seeking copyright advice andobtaining permission.

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Key information is on‐line
There is a copyright presentation especially developed forteachers at:www.copyrightdecisiontool.ca37

Questions/Discussion
While teachers can use copyright‐protected materials intheir lessons, they must know the law and comply with
the Fair Dealing Guidelines.

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