LibGuides: Copyright: Fair Dealing

Overview

'Fair Dealing' is an exception to the Copyright Act which permits use of a copyright-protected work without permission from the copyright owner or the payment of copyright royalties. To qualify for Fair Dealing, two tests must be passed:

The 'dealing' (i.e. 'use') must be for a purpose stated in the Copyright Act - this includes use of a work for research, private study, or education
The dealing must be 'fair' - only short excerpts of copyright-protected works may be reproduced and shared

The above interpretations/guidance are supported by landmark decisions made by the Supreme Court of Canada in the context of educational institutions:

2004: CCH Canadian Ltd. v. Law Society of Upper Canada - outlines six factors which determine whether a dealing with copyright-protected work is fair
2012: Alberta (Education) v. Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright) - confirmed that copying of copyright-protected work for educational use can be treated as Fair Dealing
2021: York University v. Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright) - reinforced the copying and distribution of copyright-protected work for educational use can be treated as Fair Dealing

Practical Guidelines

A copy of a short excerpt from a copyright-protected work may be provided or communicated to each student enrolled in a class or course, in the following formats:

A class handout
A posting to a learning or course management system that is password-protected, or otherwise restricted to students of the Institute.
As part of a course pack

Definition of a 'Short Excerpt'

Up to 10% of a copyright-protected work (inc. a literary works, musical scores, sound recordings, and audiovisual works
One chapter from a book
A single article from a journal/periodical
An entire artistic work (inc. paintings, prints, photographs, diagrams, drawings, maps, charts, and plans) from a copyright-protected work containing other artistic works
An entire newspaper article or page
An entire single poem or musical score from a copyright-protected work containing other poems or musical scores
An entire entry from an encyclopedia, annotated bibliography, dictionary or similar reference work provided that in each case, no more of the work is copied than is required in order to achieve the allowable purpose

Limitations

Copying or communicating multiple short excerpts from the same copyright-protected work, with the intention of copying or communicating a substantial or whole amount of the entire work, is prohibited
Copying or communicating that exceeds the limits of Fair Dealing (and/or BCIT's Copyright Fair Dealing Guidelines) may be referred to the Copyright Office for evaluation. An evaluation of whether the proposed copying or communication is permitted under Fair Dealing will be made based on all relevant circumstances
Any fee charged by the Institute for communicating or copying a short excerpt from a copyright-protected work must be intended to cover only the costs of the Institute, including overhead costs