General Copyright Considerations

As the copyright owner in the work you created, you can determine how you would like this work to be shared. For example, you may choose:

• to restrict all rights (meaning your explicit permission is required every time your work is reproduced unless a Copyright Act exemption applies)
• to make the work freely available (such as Open Access publishing), or
• to apply a licence with specific terms (such as Creative Commons)

See Public domain, Creative Commons and Open Access for more information about publishing options.

Writers often transfer copyright ownership to a publisher. However, it may be possible to retain some rights, such as the right to use and distribute the complete work for teaching purposes, by negotiating the agreement. Contact the Copyright Office for guidance.

Being inspired by an idea expressed by another individual and creating a new work as a result is acceptable without permission.

However, modifying or adapting a copy of a work may require permission. If in doubt, obtain permission. As in all cases, ensure that copying the work is permitted by a Copyright Act provision or with permission of the copyright owner before modifying or adapting.

Creating a derivative work, such as a revision, translation, condensation, elaboration, fictionalization, dramatization, art reproduction, musical arrangement or any new version of a work, will likely require permission.

Whether modifying, adapting, creating a derivative work or using a work as inspiration, attribution or proper citation is required.

Copyright infringement is using a work in a way that only the copyright owner is entitled to use it. It is an infringement to copy or communicate more than an insubstantial portion of a copyright protected work, either physically or digitally, without the permission of the copyright owner, unless an exemption in the Copyright Act applies.

The definition of insubstantial will vary depending on the length of the work. For example, an insubstantial portion from a book might equal a few paragraphs.

Copyright Act exemptions that allow a university community member to copy more than an insubstantial amount are described in the Guidelines.

Copyright infringement can carry serious consequences, including civil or criminal proceedings. It can also be subject to consequences under the university's Use of Copyright Protected Materials Policy. Whether copies are made for commercial or non-commercial purposes, the copyright infringer can be liable for damages in the thousands of dollars.

You may be liable for copyright infringement even if you made an infringing copy on someone else’s behalf. Likewise, if a university employee made an infringing copy during the course of their normal duties of employment, the university itself could also be liable for the infringement.

It is important to take responsibility and ensure the legality of what you are copying and consider how it can impact the wider university community. Copyright compliance is a legal, academic and professional responsibility.

Notice-and-notice is the name of the rules put into place by Sections 41.25 and 41.26 of the Copyright Act. The notice-and-notice provision requires the university, as an internet service provider, to forward notices sent by copyright owners regarding possible copyright infringement by users. The university takes no position on the validity of notices received, and simply complies with its obligation to forward the notices.

University of Manitoba internet users are generally not identifiable by copyright owners. Copyright owners can identify IP addresses provided by the University of Manitoba, and the university cross checks its records for the specific student or staff member who has been assigned to a specific IP address. The notice sent to the university by the copyright owner is then forwarded to the identified user.

Torrent clients, applications and programs installed on a device may continue running in the background even after they have been shut down. Deleting or disabling torrent programs can help ensure you are not engaging in practices that infringe copyright.

University of Manitoba internet users should protect their passwords and must not share their UM account information with others. If you receive notices when you are certain you have not engaged in any copyright infringing activities, consider changing your password and securing your Internet access.

A licence is a binding contract between parties, and thus supersedes other considerations including the Copyright Act’s exemptions (such as fair dealing).

The university has entered into numerous licence agreements with publishers and suppliers to obtain access to published works in electronic form. Digital licence information, including copying allowances, is included with the library record. This information should be verified every time an e-resource is used because licence terms may change from time to time. Note that specific library titles may be offered by more than one supplier and that holdings or dates may vary from one supplier to another. Select the supplier which has copying allowances and holdings best suited to your needs. 

A licence may prohibit the use of excerpts in a learning management system (such as UM Learn) or in a course pack. Licences will generally limit the amount of a journal or book that can be copied, who the material can be shared with, or how the licenced material can be used (for example, only for non-commercial purposes).

Using permalinks to library-licenced resources is generally preferred under licence terms and by the Libraries because linking helps monitor resource use. However, some library licences prohibit linking, so library licences must always be consulted prior to resource use.

Both the licence terms and conditions, as well as UM Copyright Guidelines, must be considered. In the case of conflict, the terms and conditions of the licence take precedence over UM Copyright Guidelines. In most cases, library licences will permit linking to the library record even when the licence otherwise prohibits copying.

It is important to be familiar with and to follow the terms of licences for UM resources. Failure to do so can result in the suspension of these resources for the entire university community.

For information about restrictions imposed on licenced electronic library resources, see the University of Manitoba Libraries Conditions of Access.

Some resources have other types of licences, such as Creative Commons works. All resources with a Creative Commons licence may be shared freely for non-commercial purposes without permission, provided attribution and the Creative Commons license are included. Some Creative Commons resources have licence restrictions regarding adapting, cropping, commercial use, etc. See the Creative Commons website for more details.

Document delivery / interlibrary loan

UM Copyright Guidelines apply to copying and communicating a short excerpt of a copyright protected work made available from library services such as document delivery and interlibrary loan. With certain safeguards in place, University Libraries may apply fair dealing or other Copyright Act exemptions in distributing material to clients.

Do not redistribute material received through Document Delivery that originated from another library’s electronic resource because their licence likely prohibits sharing a document delivery copy. However, a chapter from a paper-based book or an article from a paper-based journal that was scanned and sent via Document Delivery can typically be shared if it qualifies as a fair dealing copy.

See also Library licences and other licences and Fair dealing.

Library copiers, scanners and other equipment

Library clients are responsible for their own use of library photocopiers, scanners and other equipment. The university has posted a notice near photocopiers or scanners in the Libraries advising that copyright law governs the copying and distribution (in any format) of copyright protected works, and that the university is not responsible for infringing copies made by clients.

A course pack, or Reading List, is a compilation of excerpts of different works to be used either as required or supplementary readings by students enrolled in a course of study.

All course packs must be processed and sold by the University Bookstore directly to students. Cost recovery is a guiding principle for the production and sale of course packs to ensure that no profit is made.

Material for a course pack is carefully reviewed for copyright compliance by a university copyright expert. Transactional copyright permission is sought when fair dealing or other exemptions do not apply.

For more information about course packs and Reading Lists, visit the University Bookstore.

The Copyright Act provides for copyright owners to use a digital lock (also known as a technological protection measure or TPM) to restrict access to a copyright protected work and/or to limit the use of such a work. Circumvention is generally prohibited, but exemptions, such as the Exemption for the persons with perceptual disabilities, may apply to permit this in limited circumstances. Contact the Copyright Office for further information.   

If copying or communicating a copyright protected work falls outside UM Copyright Guidelines or Copyright Act exemptions, permission from the copyright owner must be secured. In some cases, there may be multiple copyright owners for one work. Obtaining permission via a fillable form, email or other written method is strongly recommended. The Copyright Office can provide advice or assistance in obtaining permission.

Once permission has been obtained, it is advisable to note on the copy that permission was secured (for example, “Copied with permission”) and to retain a copy of the permission in the event that copying or communicating the work is ever challenged. If permission cannot be secured, consider using an alternative work. See Public domain, Creative Commons and Open Access.

Public domain

In general, the term of copyright lasts for 70 years after the death of the creator. Note that due to recent changes to the Copyright Act most works by creators who died in or before 1971 are in the Public Domain, but no new works will enter the Public Domain based on the 70 year term until 2043. The copyright term varies for some types of works, such as anonymous works, photographs, movies and sound recordings. In some cases, the copyright term is 70 years after the date of release.

When the copyright term expires, the work enters the public domain. A work in the public domain is no longer protected by copyright and can be copied, distributed, communicated, adapted, modified, translated, etc. without permission. See the University of Alberta’s public domain flowchart to help determine when copyright expires.

Examples of online resources that list public domain works include Internet Archive,Gutenberg Canada,Project Gutenberg and Wikipedia.The British Library and the New York Public Library both host extensive public domain photo collections.

Creative Commons

Creative Commons is an organization offering standard licences that creators can choose to adopt, enabling them to share their works freely with clear licence terms for future users.

Creators can choose from a selection of copyright licences, some with very liberal terms of use and others with restrictions regarding adapting, cropping, commercial use, etc. All resources with a Creative Commons licence may be shared freely for non-commercial purposes without permission, provided attribution is given. See the Creative Commons website for more details.

Open Access

Open Access (OA) is a model of scholarly communication that improves access to research.  Open Access research is made available online without access restrictions and with limited usage restrictions. Visit the SPARC website for more details about OA, the Directory of Open Access Journals to determine which journals are available in this format, and OpenDOAR for a directory of academic open access directories.

Also see the UM Libraries page on Open Access for more information about OA publishing.

Canadian federal works may generally be used for non-commercial purposes without permission unless otherwise noted. In most cases, any amount may be used freely as long as certain conditions are met (such as not making any modifications to the copied work or implying an endorsement of the federal government). Though most federal works can be used, an exception to this rule is consultant reports, which are usually copyright of the consultant. You may also find that the government of Canada has released materials under the Open Government Licence - Canada. It is important to confirm the terms of this licence and that it applies to the content you would like to reproduce since different governmental departments and agencies may use different copyright terms. These licences are typically linked to in the terms and conditions at the bottom of the website. 

For provincial or municipal works, apply the fair dealing exemption or other exemptions in the Copyright Act, or confirm whether there is a provincial open government licence. For many works the government of Manitoba uses the Open MB information and data use licence. Check the Copyright or Terms and Conditions on the material or in the bottom of the web page including the content you would like to reproduce. To copy more than a Copyright Act exemption or licence allows, seek permission from the provincial or municipal government.

An out-of-print work might still be protected by copyright. Fair dealing and other copyright considerations apply to all copyright protected works whether in or out-of-print.

Permission is required to copy or communicate an excerpt of a copyright protected out-of-print work that falls outside UM Copyright Guidelines and Copyright Act exemptions.

If you are a graduate student working on a thesis, you must consider copyright when using someone else’s copyrighted material as part of the research process or copying material directly into your thesis.

For information specific to graduate students, see the Copyright in thesis or practicum section on the Support for students page.

Learn more about thesis and dissertation