Copyright

This web page is intended to provide information about copyright to students, faculty and staff of The Michener Institute. An explanation of copyright, what you have the right to copy, how to obtain permission to copy, and links to relevant web sites are provided. If you have any further questions please consult with the staff of the Learning Resource Centre (LRC) or see the user guide How to Find Information on Copyright and Intellectual Property.

What You Need to Know About Copyright

What is Copyright?
Access Copyright License
Limitations to Copying Within the License
Materials Not Covered by the License
Digital Materials

Information for Students with Perceptual Disabilities

Information for Faculty

Course Materials
Volume Limitations
Coursepacks
Textbooks

What You Need to Know About Showing Films

What You Need to Know About Copyright

What is Copyright?

Copyright is the right to copy. (1,2) Most books, poems, illustrations, journals and digital materials are subject to protection under the Canadian Copyright Act. Under the Act, most works are copyrighted for the life of the copyright holder plus 50 years, which means that during this time, only the rightsholder can give permission for his or her work to be copied. (1,2)

Access Copyright License

How can you make photocopies if the material you want to copy is protected? Michener holds a comprehensive copyright license that has been issued from Access Copyright, a non-profit agency that issues licenses and collects royalties on behalf of rightsholders. (1) This license allows students, faculty and staff of Michener to make copies of printed works, with some limitations.

Limitations to Copying Within the License (1,4-7)

In general, no copying shall exceed 10% of a published work or the following, whichever is greater:

• an entire newspaper article or a page;
• an entire single short story, play, poem, essay or article from a book or periodical containing other works;
• an entire single item of print music from a book or periodical issue containing other kinds of work;
• an entire entry from an encyclopedia, dictionary annotated bibliography or similar reference work;
• an entire reproduction of an artistic work (including drawing, sculpture, painting, prints, architectural works of art or works of artistic craftsmanship) from a book or periodical issue containing other works;
• one chapter, provided it is no more than 20% of a book.

Materials Not Covered by the License (1,4-7)

Some materials are not covered under Michener's copyright license from Access Copyright. These materials include:

• works for which copyright is held by Michener;
• unpublished works;
• advertisements and letters to the editor in newspapers, magazines and periodicals;
• newsletters and other materials containing commercially valuable proprietary information;
• crown or provincial publications (excluding Quebec)
• most print music;
• instruction manuals, workbooks, teachers' guides, and other "consumables"
• business case studies
• works published in countries with which Access Copyright does not have a bilateral agreement
• works containing a notice expressly prohibiting copying under license with a Reproduction Rights Organization

As well, rightsholders may request that their works be placed on an Exclusions List. (1,4,5,7) The Exclusions List is available in Michener's LRC. In order to make a copy of a work on the Exclusions List, the copyright owner must be contacted and must give direct permission prior to the copy being made. If you need to obtain permission from one of the owners on the Exclusions List, please consult the staff at the LRC for assistance.

Systematic, cumulative copying is not permitted under Michener's copyright license. (4) This means that you are not permitted to copy a chapter from a book or section of a work one day, and then another chapter from the same book or section from the same work another day, until the entire book or work has been copied.

Note: These limitations apply to all copying for academic and recreational purposes only. Copying for commercial purposes and political activities is not covered under this license.(7)

Digital Materials

The Canadian Copyright Act protects digital materials, such as online journals, (2,8) however these materials are not covered under Michener's copyright license, as it only applies to printed sources. (8) In order for digital materials to be copied, the permission of the creator or rightsholder must first be obtained. Please consult staff in the LRC to obtain permission to copy digital materials.

Information for Students with Perceptual Disabilities

Reproduction of print material into alternate formats is permissible under Michener's copyright license for individuals with perceptual disabilities. (1,9) These disabilities include visual impairment, blindness, or inability to view normal print because of a visual disability. Students with peripheral disabilities may obtain audio, Braille, large print or machine readable reproductions of works as long as the student has already legally obtained a copy of the published work or coursepack. Please consult the staff at the LRC for information on obtaining a reproduction in an alternate format.

Information for Faculty

Course Materials

Michener's copyright license allows for the copying of materials for classroom distribution. (1,4,5,10) The license provides for one copy to be made for each student in a class, two for the instructor, and other copies as needed for administrative purposes. At least one page of multiple copies must display the international copyright symbol (©), and a credit to the publisher, the artist or illustrator and the author or authors, when they are known. (4) The following notice is displayed:
"Copied under license from Access Copyright. Further reproduction prohibited."

Volume Limitations

Course materials provided to students at no cost are subject to certain volume limitations. These limitations include:

• 10% of a publication or an entire essay, poem, play, article or short story
• an entire single item of print music from a book or periodical issue containing other kinds of work
• an entire chapter, provided it is 20% or less of a book
• an entire reproduction of an artistic work (including drawing, sculpture, painting, prints, architectural works of art or works of artistic craftsmanship) from a book or periodical (1,4,5)

Coursepacks

Coursepacks, consisting of copies of selections of multiple works as determined by an instructor, may be sold to students. This category includes coursepacks that are given to students where the price is included in the course fee. Under Michener's copyright license, coursepacks may not be bought back from the students and resold. (10) Coursepacks have their own set of limitations, as described below.

• one copy per student in a class, two for the instructor, and other copies as needed for administrative purposes
• up to 15% of a publication or an entire essay, poem, article or short story*
• an entire single item of print music from a book or periodical issue containing other kinds of work
• an entire chapter, provide it is 20% or less of a book
• an entire reproduction of an artistic work (including drawing, sculpture, painting, prints, architectural works of art or works of artistic craftsmanship) from a book or periodical

(1,4,5,10)
*Michener's Access Copyright license may allow 15%-25% of a work to be included in a coursepack, (1,4,5) however special permission must be obtained prior to the materials being copied. Please fill out a Copyright Permission Request form (11) and send it to the LRC prior to the materials being copied. Please allow 2-4 weeks for the processing of each request.

Textbooks

Textbooks have their own set of limitations and restrictions. In general, a maximum of 5% or an entire chapter of a textbook may be included in a course pack.(1,4) Up to 50% of a coursepack may be composed of textbook material.(1,4) As well, an author-publisher combination may only be used a maximum of two times within five years. (1,4) This means that only two works that are written by an author and published by one publisher out of the multiple works that may have resulted from that author and publisher may be included in a coursepack within a span of five years. This is to prevent cumulative photocopying of textbooks.

What You Need to Know About Showing Films

In addition to the Access Copyright license Michener has for the photocopying of print materials, we also have a film license from Audio Cine Films, Inc. (ACF). This license allows films from the studios that Audio Cine Films represents to be publicly shown by students and faculty of Michener. (12) For a list of the studios and films that are included in this license, and for more information on the public performance of VHS and DVD films, please contact the staff in the LRC and also consult the ACF website at http://www.acf-film.com.

REFERENCES

(1) Access Copyright. Access Copyrights Licensing Solutions [monograph on the Internet]. [cited 2010 Mar 11]. Available from: http://www.accesscopyright.ca/Default.aspx?id=31.

(2) Department of Justice Canada. Copyright Act ( R.S. 1985, c. C-42 ). [monograph on the Internet]. 2004 [cited 2005 Nov 18]. Available from: http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/C-42/39253.html.

(3) Access Copyright. Copyright information brochure for students [monograph on the Internet]. [cited 2010 Mar 4]. Available from:
http://www.accesscopyright.ca/docs/Post-Secondary/CopyrightInformationBrochureStudents.pdf.

(4) Access Copyright. Why Copy Wrong? Copy Right [monograph on the Internet]. [cited 2010 Mar 4]. Available from:
http://www.accesscopyright.ca/docs/Post-Secondary/WhyCopyWrongCopyRight.pdf.

(5) Access Copyright. What you can and can't copy [monograph on the Internet]. [cited 2010 Mar 4]. Available from:
http://www.accesscopyright.ca/Default.aspx?id=106.

(6) Access Copyright. Frequently Asked Questions: General [monograph on the Internet]. [cited 2010 Mar 4]. Available from:
http://www.accesscopyright.ca/docs/Post-Secondary/PostSecFAQs.pdf

(7) Access Copyright. License Poster [monograph on the Internet]. [cited 2010 Mar 4]. Available from:
http://www.accesscopyright.ca/docs/Post-Secondary/PostSecPoster.pdf.

(8) Access Copyright. Frequently Asked Questions: Digital [monograph on the Internet]. [cited 2010 Mar 4]. Available from: http://www.accesscopyright.ca/Default.aspx?id=109.

(9) Access Copyright. Frequently asked Questions: Alternate Format [monograph on the Internet]. [cited 2010 Mar 4]. Available from: http://www.accesscopyright.ca/Default.aspx?id=108.

(10) Access Copyright. Frequently Asked Questions: Coursepacks [monograph on the Internet]. [cited 2010 Mar 4]. Available from: http://www.accesscopyright.ca/Default.aspx?id=107.

(11) The Michener Institute Learning Resource Centre. Copyright Permission Request form. Available from: http://my.michener.ca/forms/lrc_copyright_permission_request.pdf.

(12) Audio Cine Films. Colleges and Universities [homepage on the Internet]. [cited 2007 Oct 30]. Available from: http://www.acf-film.com/.