About Copyright
All members of the Dalhousie University community – faculty, staff and students – have an obligation to comply with the provisions of the Copyright Act of Canada.
The Copyright Act of Canada
The Copyright Act of Canada(1985; last revised 2005) protects the rights of creators of original works. The Copyright Board of Canada is mandated to enforce the terms of the Copyright Act whenever conflicts arise between copyright holders and users of copyright protected materials.
In Canada, copyright exists automatically when a work is created. The creator of a work is under no obligation to go through a legal procedure in order to claim these rights. However, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office maintains the Canadian Copyright Database and will assist creators who wish to obtain a certificate of registration to prove that they own the copyright for their works.
The Copyright Act dictates that anyone wishing to duplicate, transmit or otherwise distribute a copyright protected work must first obtain permission from the copyright owner.
However, exceptions to this rule are written into the Copyright Act. These include:
- Fair dealing
- Copying for use in the teaching and learning environment, such as the use of works on dry-erase boards or overhead projectors, the use of works for examinations or assignments, and the performance of works in a variety of educational settings.
License Agreements
The Dalhousie Libraries have negotiated individual license agreements with the vendors and publishers of electronic products on behalf of the Dalhousie community. The terms of these agreements vary, so it is important to check what uses are permitted.
Find out what reproduction rights exist for digital (eJournal, eBook) materials in our collections by clicking on the Permitted Use link, as shown below.
Alternatively, search for reproduction rights by publisher or source by visiting the Dalhousie Licensing Information page.
Access Copyright, a copyright collective, is a Canadian not-for-profit organization that provides licensing options to user groups and distributes royalties to its members.
As of September 1, 2011 Dalhousie University has opted out of the Access Copyright licensing regime. Faculty and staff can use materials licensed through the Library, or they can restrict their copying activities to those permitted by Fair Dealing. Otherwise, they must obtain permission to reproduce and distribute copyright protected material directly from copyright holders. They can also explore the alternatives described below.
Open Access
The concept of open access continues to evolve, but in general, it means that works such as peer-reviewed journal articles, graduate theses, data, or other types of scholarly information are made available free of charge, immediately (no publisher delay or embargo), and in a permanently accessible, online format.
For more information, consult the Dalhousie Library's Open Access Subject Guide. The McMaster University Library Guide is also useful.
Creative Commons
Creative Commons licenses are a relatively new form of copyright management, providing content creators and copyright holders with ways to specify what usage is permitted.
Creative Commons licenses are often identified by icons, such as:
Public Domain
Material that is in the public domain can be freely copied and distributed.
Please Note: Just because something has been posted online, this does NOT mean it is “public domain”.
A common misconception is that works in the public domain do not require citations or attribution. This is not true. Rules governing plagiarism and academic integrity still apply to works in the public domain.
Although there are exceptions, published works enter the public domain 50 years after the death of the author. At that point permissions are no longer required for reproduction or distribution. Learn more about copyright and public domain.
