This webpage is part of a series about copyright and course materials. The other three webpages in the series cover:

There is also an instructor frequently asked questions webpage with some additional information about providing course materials. 

Posting materials from print resources

Under the University of Saskatchewan (USask) Fair Dealings Guidelines, a single copy of a short excerpt from a Work may be distributed as a posting to a password-protected course website or learning management system (for example, Canvas, Moodle, PAWS) or e-reserve that is accessible only by students registered in a USask course. A “work” includes literary works, musical scores, sound recordings and audiovisual works. Examples of short excerpts include:

10% or less of a work or no more than:

  • one chapter from a book;
  • a single article from a journal issue;
  • an entire newspaper article or page;
  • an entire artistic work from a copyright-protected work containing other artistic works;
  • an entire entry from an encyclopedia, annotated bibliography, dictionary or similar reference work;
  • a single excerpt from an anthology or collection (e.g., a poem, short story, musical work, play), unless the excerpt is commercially available as a stand-alone work.

Please ensure that any materials that you distribute based on fair dealing are cited. If the amount that you would like to distribute exceeds the limitations outlined in the Fair Dealing Guidelines, you will need to acquire written permission from the copyright holder to make the number of copies that you need. The Copyright Office can assist with identifying and contacting copyright holders to acquire clearance for distributing materials to your students. 

Using electronic library resources

Electronic library resources, such as e-books and e-journals, can be shared on a password-protected course website or learning management system (for example, Canvas, Moodle, PAWS) or e-reserve that is accessible only by students registered in a USask course in accordance with the library licence attached to the resource. Please visit our webpage on providing course materials through the University Library for information about finding library licence information and what the licence information means.

Materials found on the internet

It is not an infringement of copyright for a faculty member or instructor to post material available through the Internet (for example, documents, images, videos, etc.) on a password-protected course website or learning management system (forexample, Canvas, Moodle, PAWS) or e-reserve that is accessible only by students registered in a USask course, for the purposes of education or training, under the following conditions:

  • no digital locks were circumvented to access the material (for example, the material was not password-protected or behind a paywall);
  • the source of the material is cited (including the author/creator’s name, if available);
  • you are reasonably sure that the copy you found was not an infringing copy (that is, was posted legally online);
  • that there was no clearly visible notice on the website or the material found online, prohibiting use of the material (this notice needs to be more than just the copyright symbol “©”).

You can also provide students with a link to any materials that are legally and openly available online. This is a very good option if there is a notice on the website/online material that prohibits making and distributing copies.

Most material on the Internet is not in the public domain and is subject to the same copyright protection as any other work, such as a book or movie. Please do not copy or show any content that you know or suspect, has been illegally posted.

Copyright information may be located on webpages such as “Terms of Use,” “Legal Notices,” “Copyright Notice” or something similar. These webpages may also include contact information for acquiring copyright permission. If you acquire permission to use the content, please keep a copy of any permissions that you receive.

Playing or linking to video/audio that is legally, openly available on the internet is permissible in a classroom for the purpose of education or training. For example, much of what is on YouTube is posted legally and can be shown in class without permission, but Netflix has restricted access (a paywall and password-protection) so this exception for using online materials in class does not apply to Netflix. For additional information about Netflix, please see our instructor frequently asked questions webpage.

Please contact the copyright coordinator with any questions you may have about using materials from the internet. 

Lecture slides and images

University of Saskatchewan faculty are the copyright holders of their lectures, as per the USFA collective agreement. However, you may not own the copyright to all of the content within your lecture.

A faculty member or instructor can “reproduce a work, or do any other necessary act, in order to display it” in the classroom for students (section 29.4, Canadian Copyright Act). If you would like to post your lecture slides for students in your class, you can include many copyright-protected materials – such as images – in your slides as long as the use of copyright-protected materials is covered either by a licence or by an exception in the Copyright Act.

Some options for including copyrighted materials, such as images, in your lecture slides without having to acquire copyright permission include:

  • using material that falls within the limits of the USask Fair Dealing Guidelines;
  • using materials found on the Internet (please see the conditions listed in the above materials found on the internet section);
  • using material that you have created for which you own the copyright (for example, material that you have created and have not transferred copyright to a publisher);
  • using open access or Creative Commons-licenced material;
  • providing links to online materials such as news articles, YouTube videos, etc.;
  • create a persistent link to electronic library materials (see the Library’s Direct/Persistent Linking to Electronic Resources Research Guide);
  • using public domain material;
  • if there is a required textbook for the course, using supplemental materials that were provided with the required text by the book publisher if permitted (see the supplemental resources section below).

Lecture slides that include materials covered by these options can be posted to a password-protected course website or learning management system (for example, Canvas, Moodle, PAWS) or e-reserve that is accessible only by students registered in a USask course. If you need to use material outside of the options listed above, you must seek express permission from the copyright owner to distribute the content. Please keep a copy of any permissions that you receive.

Supplemental resources provided with required course textbooks

In many cases, textbook publishers will provide electronic instructor resources to go along with a required textbook for a course. Publishers may allow extensive use of images and other materials from the textbook and the supplemental resources in course materials for students, but only if the textbook is required for the course. If you would like to use these supplemental resources in classes for which the textbook is not required, then you likely need to request permission to do so from the publisher. Please review any copyright information or terms of use that come with supplemental materials or talk to your publisher representative, to determine permitted uses and any conditions that may be attached to your use of the materials. Please keep a copy of any permissions that you receive.

Other media – music, film, television and radio

For information about Netflix, please see our instructor frequently asked questions webpage.

For information about playing film and audio during a class lecture (as opposed to copying and distributing it to students), please visit our webpage about providing course materials in the classroom.

Based on USask Fair Dealing Guidelines, copying a short excerpt from a movie, film, television program or sound recording (such as compact discs or digital audio) is permitted under the following conditions:

  • the short excerpt is made by the educational institution or someone operating on behalf of the educational institution;
  • the short excerpt is provided for the purpose of education, research, private study, criticism, review, news reporting, parody or satire;
  • no more of the original work is copied than is needed in order to achieve the allowable purpose;
  • access to the short excerpt is restricted to only students enrolled in the course for which the short excerpt is a part of the course curriculum;
    • the short excerpt can be post to a password-protected course website or learning management system (for example, Canvas, Moodle, PAWS) or e-reserve that is accessible only by students registered in the USask course in which the materials is being used;
    • no technological protection measures (that is, “digital locks” such as) need to be circumvented in order for the short excerpt to be created.

Examples of short excerpts of audio and audiovisual materials that may be copied under the conditions above include:

  • up to 10% of a sound recording;
  • up to 10% of a film;
  • up to 10% of a television episode;
  • up to 10% of a single written musical work (that is, up to 10% of a piece of sheet music);
  • one entire musical score from a copyright-protected work containing other musical scores, unless the score is commercially available as a stand-alone work (see Fair Dealing Guidelines for details).

 NOTES:

Non-educational use of film on campus requires a public performance licence to be acquired before the film can be shown. For more information, please see our how to show a film on campus webpage.
  • For information on non-educational use of music, please see our staff frequently asked questions webpage.
  • Please contact the Copyright Office with any questions about permitted uses of audio or audiovisual works or for assistance with obtaining a public performance licence.

Tests and exams

Materials may be reproduced (or performed on university premises) for the purpose of testing or examinations, as long as the material is not commercially available in an appropriate format.

Classroom recordings, lecture capture and televised classes

Lessons, including tests and exams, may be recorded and posted to a password-protected course website or learning management system (for example, Canvas, Moodle, PAWS) or e-reserve that is accessible only by students registered in a USask course for later viewing or listening, provided that:

  • the recording or copy is destroyed, by the university and the students, within 30 days after the end of the course;
  • the institution takes measures (such as implementing password-protection) to limit the audience to only students enrolled in the course in which the lesson was given;
  • The institution takes measures to prevent further copying and distribution of the lesson by the students in the course.

Section 30.01 (4) of the Copyright Act states that “A student who is enrolled in a course of which the lesson forms a part is deemed to be a person on the premises of the educational institution when the student participates in or receives the lesson by means of communication by telecommunication.”

Getting help

If you have any questions or concerns about copyright, please let us know!

Copyright Coordinator
122.13 Murray Library

Note: The information obtained from or through this site does not constitute legal advice.

 

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