By media type

Whether in print or digital form, text is protected by copyright. Most formats are protected, such as books, articles, websites, and their components, as well as creative work like poems, plays, novels and essays.

Generally, for literary works, copyright protection expires 70 years after the creator’s death. See the Canadian Copyright Term and Public Domain Flowchart.

Digital distribution

Posting on the internet

Posting copyrighted text and other media on a website may not constitute research or private study since this is a form of distribution.

Links vs. attachments or uploads

If you wish to share an electronic article, website, or other electronic resource with others, it may be preferable to provide links rather than reproduce the work on the internet (i.e., Moodle, email, forums, blogs). Unlike sending an article in its entirety, a link on a website is not a reproduction of a work as understood within copyright. Rather, a link merely directs the user to material that has already been reproduced. For example, if you wish to refer an article from an electronic journal provided by the Library to a colleague, a student or group of students at Concordia, consider sending the link to the article rather than the entire article. A colleague at another university may obtain the document from their home institution. If you wish to share a webpage, it may be preferable to provide the link in the message as opposed to attaching the page to the body of your message. (See: How to create permanent links to online articles).

For the distribution of copyright protected works, instructors and students at Concordia will want to be aware of Creative Commons licences and educational and examination exceptions. The COPIBEC agreement protects Concordia instructors who send a chapter of a book and articles from different journals to members of the Concordia community via email, so long as the works are not on the list of exclusions, and they declare their use. Meanwhile, the restricted distribution of a copyright protected work, such as on Moodle, to students and staff, offers a secure environment for copyright compliance. Finally, Creative Commons and other open licences enable the open sharing of content on the internet.

Per the Copyright Act, cinematographic works include "any works expressed by any process analogous to cinematography, whether or not accompanied by a soundtrack" (s. 2). In this guide, “video” refers to cinematographic work saved on various storage formats, including but not limited to online and streaming videos as well as DVD, Blu-ray disc, VHS, beta, U-matic tape, 16mm, and 35mm film.

Canadian copyright on cinematographic works governs the right to:

• Copy a work
• Perform a work in public
• Communicate a work to the public (e.g., broadcasting)

Rights holders and videos

Determining the identities of the creator, the copyright holder, and whether the cinematographic work is in the public domain can be difficult.

You may be able to find this information in the Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Additionally, the production company, distributor, or licensing agent would know who holds copyright and whether or not a title is in the public domain. When determining the rights holder, it is also important to understand the duration of copyright for film. See Canadian Copyright Term and Public Domain Flowchart.

It is permissible to record broadcasts for later viewing for personal use (Copyright Act, s. 29.23). The duration of copyright for broadcasts is the 50 years following the date of broadcast.

Of particular note, the CBC has a help page for the use of CBC resources for teachers and schools, as well as a CBC FAQ page.

A sound recording, according to the Copyright Act, includes "a recording, fixed in any material form (CD, audiocassette, computer hard disk, server), consisting of sounds, whether or not of a performance of a work, but excluding any soundtrack of a cinematographic work where it accompanies the cinematographic work" (s. 2).

Sound recordings may have multiple copyright protections:

• Protection of the recording itself (CD, audiocassette) (held by producer of recording)
• Protection of the performance (held by performers on the recording)
• Protection of the music/lyrics (held by composers of music/lyrics)

There is a copyright exception (s. 29.21) for using/modifying/sampling/remixing clips of sound recordings for non-commercial user-generated content.

Otherwise, using, sampling, or remixing musical and non-musical clips generally requires copyright clearance from the copyright holder(s). For musical recordings, contact the Canadian Musical Reproductive Rights Agency for terms of use and information on the rights holder.

Generally, a sound recording enters the public domain 70 years after the date of recording. See Canadian Copyright Term and Public Domain Flowchart.

Copying sound recordings

Copying a sound recording that includes a musical work

Copying a sound recording that includes a musical work for individual personal use onto a "blank audio recording medium," e.g., a blank cassette, CD or DVD, as defined by the Copyright Act, is permitted. You cannot copy a sound recording for someone else or for any other purpose, including selling/renting out, distributing, communicating to others, or performing the recording in public. The Copyright Act has established a system of levy fees on blank media for providing royalty payments to composers, performers and sound recording producers (s. 8). In Canada, the Canadian Private Copyright Collective is responsible for collecting and distributing private copying royalties.

Special exceptions exist for persons with perceptual disabilities for reproducing a sound recording in alternative format.

Distributing a sound recording

Distributing a sound recording, such as by making it digitally available through the internet, making copies for students, etc., requires the payment of royalty fees, provided that the copyright over the recording is owned by a third party.

Re:Sound collects and distributes royalties and tariffs for the distribution and/or broadcasting of sound recordings.

Images, as well as other artistic works of the types listed below, are covered by copyright.

Artistic work includes:

Figures, graphs, charts, maps, diagrams, plans, and compilations of works in visual form, paintings, drawings, photographs, engravings, sculptures, works of artistic craftsmanship, architectural works, and compilations of artistic works.

Generally, images enter the public domain 70 years after the date of creation. For photographs see Canadian Copyright Term and Public Domain Flowchart - photographs; for artistic works see the section on literary works.

According to the Copyright Act, there are permissible conditions to reproduce a copy of a computer program (s. 30.6). If you have legally obtained the copy, it may be permissible to adapt, modify, convert, and translate the program into another computer language. Ask yourself whether you can prove that the reproduction is essential for the program to function with a particular computer and that it is for your own use. Copying for backup purposes is also permissible, subject to the requirements in the Copyright Act being respected (s. 29.24). Regardless, you will need to destroy the reproduction either when your licence expires or when you cease owning the copy.

Generally, images enter the public domain 70 years after the date of creation. Software is generally considered a literary work; see Canadian Copyright Term and Public Domain Flowchart for literary works.

Adapting copyrighted material requires permission from the owner of the original work unless an exception under the Copyright Act, such as fair dealing or non-commercial user-generated content, applies. The reproduction or performance of an adaptation may require the permission of the rights holders of both the original work and the adapted work.

Translating an original work

Permission to translate substantial portions of a work must be obtained from the owner of the original work unless an exception under the Copyright Act, such as fair dealing, applies or the work is in the public domain.

Using a translated work

Translations are considered original works and are protected by copyright. This is true even if the original work has become part of the public domain. Reproduction, performance, or a new translation of a translation may require the permission of the rights holders of both the original work and the translated work.

Translating a work for a thesis or dissertation

Any reproduction of a substantial part of the content of a copyrighted work for the purposes of a master's thesis or a thesis in translation/translating must be done with the permission of the copyright owner of that work. While the reproduction of short excerpts is possible within the rules of citation, the reproduction of substantial excerpts from the source text of a translation requires prior permission from the copyright owner.

There is no set percentage of the content of a work that can be reproduced for translation purposes as fair dealing. The use of this exception requires the strict application, on a case-by-case basis, of the six criteria used to determine fair dealing.

A performance of a work includes any auditory (sound) or visual representation of a work in any medium, including live performances and sound and video recording. Receiving permission from the copyright holder, which can include having an executed licence pursuant to which permission has already been granted, is required to perform the work unless an exception such as fair dealing applies.

Generally, performances enter the public domain 70 years after the date of the performance. See the Canadian Copyright Term and Public Domain Flowchart.

Under the “non-commercial user-generated content” section of Canada's Copyright Act, an individual may "use an existing work [...] or copy of one [...] in the creation of a new work or other subject-matter in which copyright subsists." Colloquially known as the "mashup provision," s. 29.21 allows for use cases such as recording a home video with music playing in the background, creating a collage of different film screenshots or a video clip mix, and uploading these examples of user-generated works online.

The mashup provision comes with several conditions:

• The resulting new work must be created "solely for non-commercial purposes," meaning that you can't use this provision to create advertising or sell something. You must also cite the source where "reasonable" to include in your resulting work.
• You must be reasonably sure that the work you are using was not an infringing or illegal copy of the original work (e.g., a pirated song or film).
• Your resulting work must not negatively affect the market (i.e., serve as a substitute) for the original work.

User-generated content was adapted from the Simon Fraser University Copyright website, used under a CC BY-NC 4.0 licence.