Copyright policy

Copyright Guidelines

It is illegal to copy most published materials without permission from the copyright owner. Copyright exists to protect the rights and the profit potential of copyright owners. Copyright is implied and assumed in any creative work, whether or not there is a copyright statement in the work.

Print Materials and General Copyright Guidelines

Access Copyright (formerly Cancopy) is the governing body in Canada that monitors copyright compliance. Academic institutions are required to sign an agreement with Access Copyright and pay an annual fee that authorizes much of the photocopying which is required by students, faculty and staff and permits limited copying for personal use and for teaching and research purposes.

While there are exclusions (please see the “Direct Permission to Copy” section below), members of the campus community may print one copy per student plus two for the instructor for personal use and/or for teaching and research purposes, and such number as are required for administrative purposes. Faculty or librarians can make multiple copies (The Library policy is 1 copy per 30 students to a maximum of 5 for 150 students or more) of a work to put on reserve. Students may make one photocopy of the reserve item for themselves. A course pack (bound, packaged or assembled photocopies from more than one publication) may be placed on reserve in the library but no further copying of the course pack is permitted.

All members of the University community are responsible for informing themselves about the parameters of both Canada’s Copyright Act and the institution’s Access Copyright agreement, and for ensuring that any copying they do in connection with their University activities complies with these guidelines. A summary of the provisions of the Access Copyright agreement is posted adjacent to every photocopier. Click here for the quick FAQ’s around the institution’s license agreement with Access Copyright.

Copyright, including implied copyright, is held by the creator of a work, unless and until the creator signs the copyright over to another individual or body. In the case of published works, copyright is usually held by the publisher. No other individual may copy protected works without permission from the copyright holder, regardless of the use for which the copies are intended, except within the limitations permitted by the Access Copyright agreement.

Academic creators must be mindful of the fact that if, in the course of publishing their research or writing, they have signed over copyright to a journal or publisher, they no longer have the right to copy and distribute the information with impunity. Rather they must adhere to relevant legislation and agreements unless specific exemptions have been included in the agreement with the publisher or journal.
Copies of information protected by copyright may not be sold. The Access Copyrightagreement provides for the creation of ‘course packs’ upon payment of a per-copy fee. Consult with the Bookstore about requirements for creating course packs.
The Library’s Reserve system will comply scrupulously with copyright legislation. Consult the Reserves Coordinator concerning restrictions on both hard copy and electronic reserve items.
Any member of the academic community authoring research writings should familiarize themselves with appropriate citation requirements. Consult the Library reference staff for assistance with this subject.
Use of the electronic resources to which UOIT subscribes is governed by licensing agreements between the Campus Library and the vendors of these resources. These agreements limit use to authorized members of the UOIT community. The use must be for academic purposes only. In accordance with Canadian copyright law, commercial use and systematic downloading of entire journal issues, large sections of electronic textbooks or electronically transmitting online content to mailing lists or electronic bulletin boards is strictly prohibited.

What You Can Copy under the Access Copyright Guidelines

Up to 10% of a printed published work may be copied, and the following may be copied even if they exceed 10% of the full work:

works whose copyright is owned by UOIT or Durham College (the institutions) (Copyright held by members of the campus community as individuals do not fall under this exception)
an entire newspaper article or page
an entire short story, play, poem, essay or article from a book or periodical issue containing other kinds of works
an entire single item of print music from a book or periodical issue containing other kinds of works
an entire entry from an encyclopedia, dictionary, annotated bibliography or similar reference work
an entire reproduction of an artistic work from a book or periodical issue containing other kinds of works
an entire chapter which is 20% or less of a book

Direct permission to copy must be sought from the copyright holder for:

works for which copyright no longer subsists in Canada
instruction manuals including teachers’ guides
government publications: federal, provincial, crown
works on the Access Copyright exclusions list
originals of artistic works photonegatives and transparencies, mounted or unmounted
publications containing a notice expressly prohibiting copying under licence with a Reproduction Rights Organization
works intended to be used and replaced such as published workbooks, workcards, assignment sheets, tests
examination papers
unpublished works
publications containing commercially viable proprietary information, such as newsletters
most print music (including music published for use by choirs, orchestras, bands, similar groups and individual performers, whether religious, instructional, professional or recreational)
letters to the editor and ads in newspapers, magazines or periodicals

For a complete listing of Access Copyright guidelines: www.accesscopyright.ca

Other Copyright Resources:

Electronic Resources

Review our Guide to Electronic Licenses for an overview of copyright compliance for online resources purchased through Library subscriptions and for information on how to post approved article links within course materials.

Media Resources

Using Feature Films in the Classroom

Content Not Requiring Direct Permission

Creative Commons Licensing:

Get content without having to seek permission by searching Creative Commons or Creative Commons Canada licensed archive of text, videos, images, music and media.

Consider sharing knowledge more freely by using one of the various non-exclusive Creative Commons licenses.

Plagiarism and Citation Styles

In terms of Copyright, you must be honest within the scholarly environment and acknowledge your sources; this is Academic Integrity. If you do not reference your sources properly, you are committing Plagiarism. Click here for more thorough definitions and examples of Plagiarism along with its associated penalties.

Properly citing your sources is a way to respect Academic Integrity. Review the Library’s guides on Citation Styles.