Copyright at College of the Rockies for Faculty & Staff

1. What can I legally copy?

For guidelines to copyright compliant copying, check out the following pages in this guide Access Copyright, Fair Dealing, and Educational Use of the Internet. This includes the copying of materials for course reserve.

2. Can students record my lectures?

No, under the Copyright Act and as per College of the Rockies policy, either the College or the instructor owns the rights to their lectures. As such, students must seek and receive explicit permission from the copyright holder prior to recording the lecture.

3. I adopted a textbook for my course and the publisher gave me instructional materials including images, PowerPoint files, etc. Can I distribute any of those materials to my students, either on paper or post them to COTROnline?

You may distribute or post a "short excerpt" as defined in the Fair Dealing Policy or if the material is included in Access Copyright's Repertoire. In all other circumstances, you should discuss your planned use with the publisher's representative. Some publishers will grant permission for educational use if the textbook has been adopted for a course.

4. What if a book I want to copy is out-of-print?

Copyright protection lasts for 70 years after the death of the author(s) of the work. Therefore, a book that is out-of print-may nonetheless be protected by copyright.
For educational use, you may copy a "short excerpt" as defined in the Fair Dealing Policy. If more than a short excerpt is required, our licence with Access Copyright will allow 20% or see Sue Morin in the Library to arrange a transactional licence through Access Copyright to copy up to the entire book.

5. Can I show videos/movies in class?

See the Multi-Media page of this guide for the use of media programs in the classroom including DVDs/videos those from the Internet, Netflix, iTunes and YouTube.

6. Can I show/play live broadcasts of a television/radio program in class?

Yes. Section 29.5(c) allows showing/playing television/radio programs at the time of broadcast in an educational setting. Please see Radio, Television and Sound Recordings on the Multi-Media page of this guide.

7. Do I need permission to link to a website?

Generally no, but check the website's Terms of Use for any linking restrictions.

8. How can I use articles from our licensed databases? Can I use them in course packs, course reserves, COTROnline?

All our Licensed databases and their permitted uses are listed on the Permissions on the Library's A-Z Database list.

9. Can I copy/use material posted on the Internet in the classroom?

Yes, for educational and training purposes. Please see the Educational Use of the Internet page of this guide.

10. Can I use copyrighted works to create new materials for my course?

Yes. Section 29.21 of the Copyright Act permits anyone (not just instructors and students) to create what is commonly referred to as a mash-up. However, certain conditions must be met. See Mash-ups on the Multi-Media page of this guide. This includes print as well as media materials.

11. Can I post or use work by a student in a class, workshop, or website?

The work is copyright protected. You must obtain written permission from the copyright owner of any original student-generated content such as an essay, artwork, website or video produced by the student as a result of course work and/or activities.