Copibec—Educator Space

For a translated work, the copyright does not expire until the translator has also been deceased for more than 50 years. For example, a recent translation into French of a work by Shakespeare will be protected by copyright and may require permission in order for copies to be made. The same principle would apply to an adapted work.

The publication date is not taken into consideration. For instance, even if a work was published 60 years ago, it will still be protected by copyright as long as its author has not been deceased for at least 50 years. Permission may therefore be needed to copy excerpts from that work.

However, you are allowed to copy an entire book if it is in the public domain.

However, the copying licence from Copibec authorizes you to copy a play as long as it is part of another work (e.g. an anthology of plays), its length does not exceed the licence’s limits and it is not on the Exclusions List.

The Adel inc. virtual bookstore of the Association québécoise des auteurs dramatiques (AQAD) also offers plays that can be purchased. Those plays can be copied in their entirety if the applicable royalties (licence fees) are paid.

In addition, an entire play can be copied if it is in the public domain.

The federal government and the provinces and territories other than Quebec, Manitoba and Nunavut frequently authorize the copying of other types of government publications as well. To determine whether copying is allowed, refer to the conditions of use for each work or contact the relevant government’s publications department.

The copying licence from Copibec gives you permission to copy publications from Quebec government ministries or Publications du Québec unless a notice on the work already authorizes copying for educational purposes.

• Author’s name
• Title of the work
• Publisher
• Publication place and year
• Page numbers copied

A digital format coursepack refers to all copies on electronic media sent by email, accessible from a link or hyperlink, or sent or downloaded to or stored on a secure network. The concept of assembling or binding applies only to print format coursepacks, not digital format coursepacks. You have to report all digital format copies to Copibec.

• the work has been made available with the copyright owner’s consent (it is preferable to consult the websites of authors and publishers or official sites and avoid file sharing sites)
• there is no clearly visible notice prohibiting the use of the work or a technological measure that limits access to the work.

The document source and bibliographic references must be indicated.

If you are not sure whether copying is allowed, please contact Copibec or the copyright owner to request permission.

However, the Copibec licence authorizes works to be copied as long as they have been made available to the public with the copyright owner’s consent, they were published in the print or digital version of a book, newspaper, magazine or periodical and they do not appear on the Exclusions List.

• the work has been made available with the copyright owner’s consent (it is preferable to consult the websites of authors and publishers or official sites and avoid file sharing sites)
• there is no clearly visible notice prohibiting the use of the work or a technological measure that limits access to the work.

The document source and bibliographic references must be indicated.

If you are not sure whether copying is allowed, please contact Copibec or the copyright owner to request permission.

The Copibec licence also authorizes works to be displayed as long as they have been made available to the public with the copyright owner’s consent, they were published in the print or digital version of a book, newspaper, magazine, periodical or the liner notes accompanying a musical work and they do not appear on the Exclusions List.

• the copied work is not commercially available for purchase in Canada; and
• that excerpt complies with the authorized limits and conditions.

Any copies made under the licence must be reported to Copibec.

In addition, under an exception in the Copyright Act, material can be displayed on a smartboard only if the work is not commercially available for purchase. In all cases, if the work is commercially available, it must be purchased.

• Scan a print format work to make a digital copy
• Email a digital copy or store it on a secure network accessible to students in a course
• Give students a digital copy of a coursepack used for a course
• Store a digital copy of an excerpt from a work on a local device or media such as a CD-ROM or USB flash drive
• Display a digital format copy in class
• Display a digital format copy on a computer or other device
• Display a link or hyperlink that opens a digital format copy

You therefore have an essential role to play so the royalties can be paid to the people whose works were actually used. Copies can be reported to Copibec by using Savia, our online copyright licensing and rights management system.

It is not necessary to report a work accessible on the Web from a link or hyperlink if that work:

• is in the public domain
• appears on the Copibec Exclusions List
• is covered by a licence other than the Copibec licence and that licence authorizes the intended use (e.g. subscription to a database of articles that allows certain uses such as distribution to students)
• is available free from a website open to the public and there is no clearly visible notice prohibiting the use of the work or there is no technological measure limiting access to it.

For example, dysphasia, dyslexia and pervasive development disorders are considered perceptual disabilities.

Determining what is fair dealing requires a case-by-case analysis. In general, it refers to a short excerpt from a work used for one of the purposes designated in the Act. However, neither the Copyright Act nor the courts have specified a percentage or number of pages that can be copied under the fair dealing exception.

As a result, even though fair dealing for educational purposes is sometimes interpreted as meaning up to 10% of a work or an entire chapter, that interpretation is not founded on the wording of the Act or any ruling by Canadian courts.

Thanks to the Copibec licence, educational institutions and teaching personnel can make copies without having to do a case-by-case analysis. The licence therefore simplifies copyright management when copyright protected material is used, reduces the related costs and helps ensure that the institutions can operate smoothly while providing fair compensation to copyright owners.

In particular, the exception allows an educational institution to film a lesson during which a work is used in compliance with an exception in the Copyright Act and then make that film available for distance learning purposes by students enrolled in the course. The excerpt from the work must be included in the filmed lesson and not attached as a separate file.

Example:
During a lesson filmed in the educational institution’s premises, an instructor uses a smartboard to display an excerpt from a work to students in class (i.e. the exception for smartboards). The filmed lesson is made available online through the institution’s intranet for distance learning students who are enrolled in the instructor’s course.

It is important to understand the following:

• This exception does not apply to coursepacks distributed to students.
• This exception applies only if the use of the work in the lesson is allowed under another exception in the Copyright Act. It is therefore not possible to take advantage of the distance learning exception in order to film a lesson in which works are used with the copyright owner’s permission. In that case, you have to request permission from the copyright owner to film the works and transmit them.
• The educational institution has to comply with all the conditions of the exception, especially those concerning measures to prevent transmission to other persons or those requiring the copy of the lesson to be deleted within 30 days of the final course evaluations (the students are also required to delete their copies within 30 days). However, the Copibec licence allows universities to keep a copy of lessons for the duration of the licence’s term.

For more information, please do not hesitate to contact us.