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Copyright

Educational Exceptions

Educational exceptions in the Copyright Act allow specific uses of copyrighted work for educational purposes, without payment or permission from the copyright owner, provided certain conditions are met. All such works should include a citation for the source.

Publicly Available Materials on the Internet

Members of the Douglas College community (students, staff, and faculty) are permitted to reproduce, share, or stream works available through the internet, provided: 

  • The use is for educational or training purposes
  • The work is not protected by a digital lock or technological protection measure
  • There is no clearly visible notice prohibiting use for educational purposes
  • There is no suspicion that the work has been posted on the Internet without the consent of the copyright owner

The source and, if provided, the author, performer, maker, or broadcaster must be cited. 

Copyright Act, Section 30.04.

Copying for Instruction (classroom display)

Members of the Douglas College community (students, staff, and faculty) are permitted to reproduce copyright-protected works for display in class, such as lecture slides, for teaching and training purposes, provided the works are not commercially available in an appropriate format. 

Please note: what you can display in the classroom may be different from what you can distribute to students (e.g. as a handout or post in Blackboard). Before distributing presentation slides containing copyright-protected works by others, ensure that: 

  • Access is limited to students enrolled in the course, and 
  • Limits outlined in Douglas's fair dealing guidelines are respected

Copyright Act, Section 29.4(1). 

Copying for Tests and Exams

Members of the Douglas College community (students, staff, and faculty) are permitted to reproduce, translate, perform, or communicate electronically copyright-protected works for tests or exams, provided the works are not commercially available in an appropriate format.

Copyright Act, Section 29.4(2)

Copying a News Program for Classroom Use

Members of the Douglas College community (students, staff, and faculty) are permitted to make a single copy of a news program (excluding documentaries) for display, provided:

  • The audience consists primarily of Douglas students, faculty, and staff
  • The copy was made at the time the program was aired by the broadcaster or communicated over the Internet

Copyright Act, Section 29.6(1)

Showing DVDs and Videos

Members of the Douglas College community (students, staff, and faculty) are permitted to show DVDs and videos on campus without permission or Public Performance Rights, provided:

  • The performance is for educational or training purposes
  • The performance is not for profit
  • The audience consists primarily of Douglas students, staff, and faculty
  • The copy is legally acquired

Copyright Act, Section 29.5(d)

Playing Sound Recordings

Members of the Douglas College community (students, staff, and faculty) are permitted to play sound recordings on campus without permission, provided:

  • The performance is for educational or training purposes
  • The performance is not for profit
  • The audience consists primarily of Douglas students, faculty, and staff
  • The copy is legally acquired

Copyright Act, Section 29.5(b)

The information on the 'Educational exceptions' page has been adapted from Langara Library's Copyright for Instructors: Educational Exceptions page and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Disclaimer 

The information in this resource should not be considered legal advice. The purpose of this guide is to provide Douglas College faculty and students with general information about copyright.