Copyright for Faculty & Staff

Section 29.21 of the Copyright Act gives users the right to use published work to create a new work. It is often referred to as the mash-up provision.

The following conditions apply to any material created under this provision:

1. Must not be used for commercial purposes;
2. Original source(s) must be mentioned if it is reasonable to do so;
3. Individual has reasonable grounds to believe that the original work used did not infringe copyright (material must be legally acquired);
4. Resulting user-generated content does not have a “substantial adverse effect” to the copyright holder of the published works used.

You may:

• Create a “mash-up” of video clips from legally purchased films for use in your teaching.
• Make a video of an individual acting out or dancing to a popular song and post it online.

You may not:

• Add a few lines to an ebook or a brief introduction to a song and post the copy for free online.
• Re-order tracks on an album and distribute it.

For the purposes of education or training, educational institutions or a person acting under its authority may do any of the following: 

Reproduction for Instruction

Section 29.4

Reproduce a work or do any other necessary act in order to display it. For further details, see section 29.4 of the Copyright Act.

Reproduction for Examinations

Section 29.4

• Reproduce, translate or perform a work in public on the premises of Ontario Tech as required for an examination.
• Communicate a work or other subject-matter by telecommunication to the public situated on the premises of Ontario Tech as required for a test or examination.

This exception is not applicable for works that may be located with reasonable effort or are commercially available, except in the case of manual reproduction (i.e. onto a whiteboard, flip chart, or any other surface intended for displaying handwritten material). 

Performances

Section 29.5

Educational institutions and persons acting under the authority of an educational institution are allowed to carry out the following performances, if performed on Ontario Tech premises for educational or training purposes and not for profit, before an audience consisting primarily of students, faculty or any person who is directly responsible for setting a curriculum for Ontario Tech if:

• the live performance in public, primarily by Ontario Tech students, of a work;
• the performance in public of a sound recording, or of a work or performer’s performance that is embodied in a sound recording, as long as the sound recording is not an infringing copy or the person responsible for the performance has no reasonable grounds to believe that it is an infringing copy;
• the performance in public of a work or other subject-matter at the time of its communication to the public by telecommunication; and
• the performance in public of a cinematographic work, as long as the work is not an infringing copy or the person responsible for the performance has no reasonable grounds to believe that it is an infringing copy.

News and Commentary

Section 29.6

A single copy of a news program or a news commentary program may be made, excluding documentaries, for the purposes of performing the copy for educational or training purposes. 

Reproduction of Broadcast

Section 29.7

A single copy of a work may be created by a member of an educational institution at of public broadcast. The copy may be kept for up to thirty (30) days to decide whether to perform it for educational or training purposes. If the copy is not destroyed by the expiration of thirty (30) days, copyright is infringed, unless royalties are paid.

Section 30.04 of the Copyright Act allows work available through the Internet to be reproduced, communicated or performed for an audience consisting primarily of Ontario Tech students or other persons acting under Ontario Tech’s authority, for educational or training purposes as long as the source is mentioned and the name of the author, performer, maker or broadcaster is credited if it is given.

This provision does not apply if:

• the works are protected by a Digital Lock that restricts access to the work;
• a clearly visible notice (and not merely the copyright symbol) prohibiting such use is posted on the website;
• the educational institution or person acting under its authority knows or should have known that the works were made available on the Internet without consent of the copyright owner.
   

Please note that copyright holders may require a particular type of attribution (e.g. Creative Commons).

Section 32 of the Copyright Act permits for a person with a perceptual disability (individuals who are blind, visually impaired, or otherwise print disabled), for a person acting at the request of such a person, or for a non-profit organization acting for the benefit of such a person to:

• make a copy or sound recording of a literary, musical, artistic or dramatic work, other than a cinematographic work, in a format specially designed for persons with a perceptual disability;
• translate, adapt or reproduce in sign language a literary or dramatic work, other than a cinematographic work, in a format specially designed for persons with a perceptual disability; or
• perform in public a literary or dramatic work, other than a cinematographic work, in sign language, either live or in a format specially designed for persons with a perceptual disability.

This provision applies to literary, musical, artistic or dramatic work. This does not apply to cinematographic work. This exception allows the user to create copies in a format specially designed for persons with a perceptual disability. Perceptually disabled students include blind and visually impaired students, as well as students with learning disabilities and physical disabilities. 

Educational institutions may not make a large-print book for a student with a perceptual disability without permission from the copyright owner. This provision does not apply in situations where the work or sound recording is commercially available in a format designed to meet the needs of the individual with a perceptual disability.