There are five questions that must be considered before you copy material for teaching, learning, or research purposes. See Getting Started.
Use of copyrighted material at StFX is covered by the Canadian Copyright Act, as well as the Supreme Court of Canada rulings on Fair Dealing and its applications.
Copyright protects literary, artistic, dramatic, and musical works, as well as sound recordings, performances, and communication signals. Copyright encompasses a wide range of things, including books, articles, posters, manuals, graphs, CDs, DVDs, software, databases, and websites. Copyright exists as soon as a work is created. The work may still be copyright protected even in the absence of the copyright symbol ©.
Since December 30, 2022, the term of copyright in Canada is life-plus-seventy, which was previously a term of life-plus-fifty. This means that copyright protection now lasts for the duration of the lifetime of the author, plus 70 years from the end of the calendar year of their death.
This extension of the copyright term is not retroactive. Any works whose copyright expired before December 30, 2022 will not receive an additional 20 years of protection (Government of Canada, 2023).
It should be noted that there are several exceptions to this general rule. As stated by Heer Law (2023), Crown or government works in Canada are protected until published and for an additional 70 years from the date of publication. Additionally, if there is joint authorship, copyright will last for the remainder of the calendar year which the last author dies and for 50 years after that.
Other exceptions do exist. When in doubt, contact a copyright expert. Heer Law: Intellectual Property Law & Litigation. h
References:
Government of Canada. (2023, January 10). What copyright is. Government of Canada. https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/canadian-intellectual- property-office/en/what-intellectual-property/what-copyright
Heer Law. (2023, June 23). Copyright FAQ. Heer Law: Intellectual Property Law & Litigation. https://www.heerlaw.come/copyright-faq
Copyright is recognized internationally as a result of international conventions. In general, your copyright will be protected in other countries. But it is protected under that country’s laws which may differ from the copyright protection in Canada. See Berne Convention for more information.
U.S. and Canadian copyright laws differ in a number of ways. For example, a provision known as "fair use" which is different from Canadian "fair dealing." If you are from the U.S. or are collaborating with an American researcher, you should keep in mind that the rules that apply to the copyrighted material you intend to use or create may differ depending on where you want to use them.
In the United States, copyright is generally for the term of the creator's life plus 70 years. Since December 30, 2022, the term of copyright in Canada is life-plus-seventy, which was previously a term of life-plus-fifty. This means that copyright protection now lasts for the duration of the lifetime of the author, plus 70 years from the end of the calendar year of their death.
This extension of the copyright term is not retroactive. Any works whose copyright expired before December 30, 2022 will not receive an additional 20 years of protection (Government of Canada, 2023).
It should be noted that there are several exceptions to this general rule. As stated by Heer Law (2023), Crown or government works in Canada are protected until published and for an additional 70 years from the date of publication. Additionally, if there is joint authorship, copyright will last for the remainder of the calendar year which the last author dies and for 50 years after that.
Other exceptions do exist. When in doubt, contact a copyright expert. Heer Law: Intellectual Property Law & Litigation. h
References:
Government of Canada. (2023, January 10). What copyright is. Government of Canada. https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/canadian-intellectual- property-office/en/what-intellectual-property/what-copyright
Heer Law. (2023, June 23). Copyright FAQ. Heer Law: Intellectual Property Law & Litigation. https://www.heerlaw.come/copyright-faq
Fair dealing is an exception in the Copyright Act that allows for the use of copyrighted material for the purpose of research, private study, criticism, review, news reporting, education, parody, or satire, without permission from the copyright owner, provided that the use of the work is ‘fair’. Whether something is 'fair' will depend on the circumstances, including the amount used, the character and purpose of the use, the nature of the work, the effect of the use on the work, and whether there were any appropriate alternatives. See Relevant Supreme Court Rulings for more information on fair dealing.
The term public domain refers to works in which copyright has expired or where the copyright owner has made a clear declaration that s/he will not assert copyright in the work.
Since December 30, 2022, the term of copyright in Canada is life-plus-seventy, which was previously a term of life-plus-fifty. This means that copyright protection now lasts for the duration of the lifetime of the author, plus 70 years from the end of the calendar year of their death.
This extension of the copyright term is not retroactive. Any works whose copyright expired before December 30, 2022 will not receive an additional 20 years of protection (Government of Canada, 2023).
It should be noted that there are several exceptions to this general rule. As stated by Heer Law (2023), Crown or government works in Canada are protected until published and for an additional 70 years from the date of publication. Additionally, if there is joint authorship, copyright will last for the remainder of the calendar year which the last author dies and for 50 years after that.
Other exceptions do exist. When in doubt, contact a copyright expert. Heer Law: Intellectual Property Law & Litigation. h
References:
Government of Canada. (2023, January 10). What copyright is. Government of Canada. https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/canadian-intellectual- property-office/en/what-intellectual-property/what-copyright
Heer Law. (2023, June 23). Copyright FAQ. Heer Law: Intellectual Property Law & Litigation. https://www.heerlaw.come/copyright-faq
Copyright for scholarly work, such as academic papers, is initially held by the author. However, authors are commonly asked to agree to a copyright transfer to the publisher when their work is accepted for publication. Each copyright transfer varies in the degree of rights given to the publisher, and what rights are retained by the author, and those rights may be negotiated.
Terms relating to copyright ownership and use of materials created by faculty are set out in Article 2.11 (3.0), Works, of the StFX AUT Collective Agreement.
Students own the copyright in their theses and other materials they create as part of course requirements. For more information, see the StFX Student Intellectual Property Guidelines.