All information from the UM Copyright Office is provided to the University of Manitoba community for informational and educational purposes and is not to be construed or relied upon as professional or legal opinion or advice.
UM Copyright Guidelines
Copyright is taken seriously at the university. All UM community members are legally and ethically obligated to comply with copyright law. Consult these UM Copyright Guidelines for information on a variety of topics relating to copyright.
The fair dealing exemption in the Copyright Act permits the use of a copyright protected work without permission from the copyright owner or the payment of copyright royalties. Review this page to learn how this exemption is determined and how it applies to a variety of purposes.
Should your desired copying exceed fair dealing allowances, see this list of alternatives or consider other exemptions or user rights available in the Copyright Act.
Disclaimer
Definition of fair dealing
The fair dealing exemption in sections 29, 29.1 and 29.2of the Copyright Act is a user right which permits the use of a copyright protected work without permission from the copyright owner or the payment of copyright royalties.
To qualify for fair dealing, two tests must be passed:
- The use or “dealing” must be for a purpose stated in the Copyright Act.
- The dealing must be “fair.”
1. Approved dealing purposes
As listed in the Copyright Act, these are the valid purposes for the use of copyright protected work without permission:
- Research
- Private study
- Criticism
- Review
- News reporting
- Education
- Satire
- Parody
Instructors, professors and staff members may communicate and reproduce, in paper or electronic form, short excerpts from a copyright protected work for the purposes noted above.
The Copyright Act requires that when copying or communicating short excerpts for the purpose of news reporting, criticism or review that the source, and the name of the author or creator of the work if provided in the source, must be mentioned.
Beyond the requirements of the Copyright Act, proper attribution or citation when copying any work is required to meet academic integrity obligations.
Fair dealing can apply in a number of circumstances, as long as it is for one of the allowable purposes listed above (e.g., education), even if the allowable purpose is not the sole purpose of the copying. Fair dealing copies for commercial purposes should be avoided.
2. Determining if the dealing is fair
The second test is that the dealing must be “fair.” UM Copyright Guidelines permit faculty members, instructors and staff members to copy and communicate, in paper or electronic form, short excerpts from copyright protected works for any of the eight fair dealing purposes noted above.
The Supreme Court of Canada, in the 2004 CCH v. Law Society case, considered the following factors in determining whether a dealing is fair:
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The purpose of the proposed copying. For example, it would likely be fair for students to perform a scene from a modern play in class as part of a literature course, but it would not be fair for the same scene to be performed for the general public in a campus theatre where admission is charged.
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The character of the proposed copying, including whether it involves single or multiple copies, and whether the copy is destroyed after it is used for its specific intended purpose. For example, making more copies than the number of students in a class might not be fair, and retaining a copy might be less fair than destroying it after use.
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The amount or proportion of the work which is proposed to be copied and the importance of that work. Consider the value of the excerpt in relation to the whole work. For example, it might not be fair to use the integral or central portion of a work, or to copy the complete conclusion from an article. It is advised to copy the minimum amount necessary to serve the fair dealing purpose.
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Alternatives to copying the work, including whether there is a non-copyrighted equivalent available. Find a list of alternatives to consider below.
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The nature of the work, including whether it is published or unpublished. For example, copying an unpublished work such as a private journal might not be fair.
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The effect of the copying on the work, including whether the copy will compete with the commercial market of the original work. For example, copying all the images from a work when those images are available for sale as a group by the publisher might not be fair.
Note that insubstantial amounts (as defined in the Copyright Infringement and Notice-and-Notice sections) do not need to go through the two-step test nor the fair dealing assessment. For example, copying a few sentences or a few paragraphs from a book is likely not a copyright issue. However, it is advised to use the minimal amount and to provide attribution in all cases.
Applying the fairness factors for more than an insubstantial amount can prove challenging. As such, guiding principles were established in relation to defining a short excerpt and applying fair dealing as described below.
What is a short excerpt?
A short excerpt in the context of fair dealing means:
- Up to 10 per cent of a copyright protected work (including a literary work, musical score, sound recording and an audiovisual work)
- One chapter from a book
- A single article from a periodical
- An entire artistic work (including a painting, print, photograph, diagram, drawing, map, chart and plan) from a copyright protected work containing other artistic works
- An entire newspaper article or page
- An entire single poem or musical score from a copyright protected work containing other poems or musical scores
- An entire entry from an encyclopedia, annotated bibliography, dictionary or similar reference work
Exception: Where the copyright protected work is an anthology or collection that contains individually available copyright protected works in their entirety, this guideline may not apply. Consult with the Copyright Office in these situations.
In each case above, no more of the work can be copied than is required to achieve the allowable purpose.
When considering copying or communicating a short excerpt, you can choose the most advantageous of the seven conditions above.
Copying or communicating multiple short excerpts from the same copyright protected work (cumulative copying), with the intention of copying or communicating more than a fair amount, is prohibited. If more than a fair amount is desired, consider seeking copyright permission or purchasing the work.
What cannot be reproduced under fair dealing guidelines
The following resources cannot be reproduced:
- Unpublished works
- Consumables
- Proprietary workbooks, cards, assignment sheets or test and examination pages
- Instruction manuals
- Business cases (unless expressly permitted)
- Newsletters with circulation restricted to fee paying clients or members
Alternatives to consider when fair dealing might not apply
- Use materials you own the copyright in (always check your publishing agreement for copyright restrictions on published works).
- Direct your readers to resources available from UM Libraries.
- Use a link instead of copying electronic resources from UM Libraries or from any internet-based source. The Reading Lists tool in UM Learn can be used to include all your e-resources in a single source.
- Use electronic material that has liberal terms of use.
- Select a book as a required textbook for a course.
- Use a copyright-friendly equivalent, such as a work in the public domain, a work with a Creative Commons licence, or an open access work.
- Contact the UM Bookstore to create a course pack.
- Create a list of references and ask readers to locate the sources independently in the library or online.
Contact us for help with fair dealing
Fair dealing is determined on a case-by-case basis.
For assistance in evaluating what is fair, or to copy or communicate beyond the limits in the UM Copyright Guidelines, contact the Copyright Office. An evaluation will be made based on all relevant circumstances. If necessary, we can provide assistance in considering alternatives or obtaining permission.
Fair dealing exception
Find a wide range of topics relating to the fair dealing exception.
Teaching
Fair dealing allows a faculty member or instructor, or their proxy, to:
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Provide a copy of a short excerpt to students enrolled in a course of study as a handout.
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Email a copy of a short excerpt to students enrolled in a course of study.
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Post a copy of a short excerpt on a learning management system (such as UM Learn) stored on a secure server or other device that is only accessible by students enrolled in a course of study, unit or program of instruction (e.g., password protected).
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In some cases, include a copy of a short excerpt in a course pack sold to students enrolled in a course of study.
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Distribute a copy of a short excerpt used in a lecture or classroom presentation to students enrolled in a course of study.
In each case, a copy of the short excerpt may also be provided or made available as required to another faculty member, instructor or to university staff.
As a safeguard to protect the interests of copyright owners, the work from which the copy of the short excerpt is made must be in the lawful possession of the university, faculty member or instructor. This would include a physical work in the collection of UM Libraries or faculty member or instructor. It would also include a borrowed work or a copy that was made based on the fair dealing exemption (for example, through the Libraries’ Document Delivery service).
When a work has been obtained through Document Delivery, refer to the terms included with the requested document. For example, the terms may allow private use only, or prohibit reproducing copies of the document.
For electronic resources, the licence details must be consulted before copying a short excerpt (see Library Licences and Other Licences).
Research
According to fair dealing, a copy of a short excerpt from a print copyright protected work may be made by a UM academic staff member to use in conducting research or to include in a personal collection of research resources.
The member may share a copy of the short excerpt from the print copyright-protected work with other members and students within the university and or another educational institution with whom the member is engaged in collaborative research.
In sharing a copy of the short excerpt, the member may:
- email the copy to the students and other members
- post the copy to a website on a secure server or other device, provided the website is secured (e.g., password protected) and is only accessible by those members and students with whom the member is conducting collaborative research.
When accessing a resource electronically through UM Libraries, refer to the terms of the licence to determine how, or if, the resource may be shared with non-UM collaborative researchers. In many cases, electronic resources may only be shared with other UM community members, and only in specific ways (for example, by linking to the library catalogue record rather than providing a PDF copy of an article).
UM Learn
UM Learn is a learning management system used to share course material. A short excerpt of a copyright protected work may be posted to UM Learn based on the fair dealing exemption if the following safeguards are met:
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The learning management system must be operated by or under the control of the University of Manitoba.
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The learning management system must be stored on a secure server or other device (e.g., password protected).
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The short excerpts posted to the learning management system must only be accessible by students enrolled in the course of study, unit or program of instruction for which the short excerpts have been posted, and by faculty members, instructors or university staff who require access to the learning management system.
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To give students the choice of how to access course materials, the same short excerpt may be made available to students through a learning management system, an email, a class handout or in a course pack. However, no more than a short excerpt from a work from across all editions and formats of a copyright protected work may be copied and made available to students during a specific course of study.
- For research projects located in the learning management system which contain short excerpts, access should be provided only to faculty, staff and students participating in the research or providing assistance for the project.
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During a specific course of study, multiple short excerpts from the same work which would amount to more than permitted by the fair dealing exemption may not be posted.
- A short excerpt of a work may not be removed and replaced with another short excerpt from the same work which would have the effect of reproducing more than a fair dealing amount of the total work during a specific course of study.
UM Learn displays copyright messages regularly and users must abide by the “Computer Account – Usage Agreement” which includes a copyright component. UM Learn is subject to copyright compliance reviews.
See other sections in the UM Copyright Guidelines for information about more Copyright Act exemptions, library licences, etc. that might apply to material posted to UM Learn.
Upon request, the Copyright Office can verify all your course material to ensure it meets copyright rules.
Audiovisual works
Audiovisual works include motion picture films, television programs and videos.
Faculty, instructors and staff may copy short excerpts of a copyright protected audiovisual work and communicate those short excerpts to students for research, private study or education, among other fair dealing purposes.
It is permissible to record a short excerpt from a computer, television or projection screen using a video recording device (e.g., a smart phone) or software when the source content has been lawfully accessed and no digital locks or TPMs have been broken.
Musical works and sound recordings
Musical works include musical scores and sheet music. Sound recordings include CDs and other media that contain recorded sound.
UM Copyright Guidelines permit faculty members, instructors and staff to copy short excerpts of copyright-protected musical works and sound recordings and to communicate those short excerpts to students for research, private study or education, among other fair dealing purposes.
Remember that when applying fair dealing to sound recordings you need to consider the individual recorded songs, rather than an album as a whole, when assessing the length of a short excerpt.
It is permissible to reproduce a short excerpt of a sound recording using a recording device (e.g., smart phone) or software when the source content has been lawfully accessed and no digital locks have been broken.
Evaluating the copyright term of musical works and sound recordings is complex, as is determining who the copyright owners are. Contact the Copyright Office for assistance.
Administrative copying
Administrative copying includes copying copyright protected works made for one of two purposes:
- the development of a course of study, unit or program offered by the university
- the governance or administration of the university or of a faculty or department of the university
A short excerpt of a copyright protected work may be copied if the fair dealing purpose of the copying is tied to education. For example:
- making a copy of a short excerpt of a copyright protected work and emailing it to members of a faculty or department committee for use in developing a course of study, unit or program
- making a short excerpt of a copyright protected work for the purpose of training administrative staff
In both examples above, distribution should be limited to participants and assistants.
Administrative copying of a short excerpt of a copyright protected work that is made for the governance or administration of the university or a faculty or department of the university may be made. For example:
- copying a short excerpt of a copyright protected work and providing the copies to members of the board of governors or to members of a faculty or department committee for governance or general administrative purposes relating to the operation of the university
Students
Depending on the circumstances, a student may copy or communicate a short excerpt of a copyright protected work based on the fair dealing exemption in the Copyright Act. However, terms of use may prevent the application of the fair dealing exemption for electronic resources. For example, the university has entered into agreements for the use of electronic library resources, some of which may have restrictive licence terms. Students need to be aware of these licence terms when using electronic library resources.
The university does not condone copyright infringement by students. Students who copy or communicate copyright protected works should either be certain that copying or communicating the works falls within one of the exemptions in the Copyright Act, that licence terms allow its use, or that permission was obtained from the copyright owner.
The university is not liable for any infringing copies made or communicated by students, including copies made or communicated using copiers or scanners made available by the university.
The university does not have control over students who post content to the internet, including UM Learn, or who attach content to emails. However, students who make or post infringing copies could face disciplinary action for academic misconduct. See Academic integrity for more information.
For copyright information related to graduate students and their theses, see Copyright in thesis or practicum section in Copyright support for students.
Further Copyright information
If you have other Copyright questions or your copying does not fit within the Fair Dealing exception, you can consult with the below pages or the Copyright Office directly at um.copyright@umanitoba.ca
Contact us
Copyright Office
304G Elizabeth Dafoe Library
25 Chancellors Circle
University of Manitoba (Fort Garry campus)
Winnipeg, MB R3T 2M8 Canada
204-474-7277