This guide has been adapted from the Sheridan College Copyright Services Guide, the Seneca College Copyright Guide, and the CLO Learning Portal Faculty Copyright Toolkit, which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Disclaimer
This site was designed solely for informational purposes for Cambrian College faculty and staff. All other users are encouraged to check and confirm the information with their institution.This site is prepared by library staff and is not reviewed by legal counsel.
Don't forget that you can use library resources for your courses, too! The library has license agreements that cover databases and ebooks. These agreements normally allow for emailing content and linking content through Moodle. Some may allow you to use the content as handouts or in course packs. Contact the librarian to determine what is allowed.
Copyright is a law that protects moral and economic rights of content creators. Copyright has rights for both creators and users in an effort to create a balanced and fair use of copyrighted works. There are also exceptions available, such as fair dealing, as outlined in our Cambrian College Fair Dealing Guidelines.
In Canada, copyright protection is automatic upon the creation of a work. As soon as you produce something original in fixed form (written, video, audio on a CD, etc.) you own the copyright for that item (unless you’ve agreed to sign it over to someone else). Only the copyright owner has the right to decide when and how the work is used.
All original creative works are protected under copyright. And remember even if a work does not have a copyright symbol ©, the work is still protected under The Copyright Act.
Copy ”Left” occurs when copyright owners decide to share their works using agreements or licenses that either reduce or remove copyright limitations, usually with the stipulation that the same rights be preserved in derivative works down the line. Some Copyleft resources include:
For more open resources, visit our OER page in this guide.
Works in the public domain belong to the public and are free to use without permission. Typically, copyright lasts for 50 years after the copyright owner has died - after that the work is in the public domain. For example, the works of Shakespeare and Mozart are in the public domain and can be republished by others, without permission from a copyright owner. Public Domain resources include:
For more open resources, visit our OER page in this guide.
Cambrian College no longer has a licensing agreement with Access Copyright, Canada's copyright licensing agency, and is operating under the principles and guidelines of Fair Dealing. This decision was based on legislative approval of the Copyright Modernization Act and recent Supreme Court of Canada decisions which support broader educational uses of copyrighted material. You can read Cambrian's copyright guidelines below:
Faculty can complete the mandatory copyright training modules by searching "Copyright" in Moodle.
Faculty and staff can also refer to Cambrian's guidelines (above) for using copyright protected works. If your use does not meet fair dealing or you are unsure of fair dealing, please contact Marnie Seal for assistance on fair dealing analysis. She can also suggest other options available to you.
Faculty should contact Ancillary Business Operations at extension 6878 if they wish to create printed course packs. A warning - anyone committing copyright infringement can face a fine of up to $5,000.
