Copyright at Okanagan College

There are two things to consider when providing readings to students:

1. Where is your course material coming from?

• Print material (books, magazines, journal, newspapers)
• A library database (journal articles etc. accessed through the library website)
• A website

2. How are you providing access to the readings?

• Moodle, email, or Talis Aspire
• Custom print course pack
• Print handouts

Where is your course material coming from?

Print material (books, journals, magazines, or newspapers)

You may scan and upload to Moodle short excerpts of copyright works if the excerpts qualify as fair dealing.

Fair dealing generally allows: 

• Up to 10% of a copyright-protected work 
• One chapter from a book
• A single article from a periodical

Any scanning and uploading of copyright material that is not permitted by fair dealing requires the explicit permission of the copyright holder.

Articles and e-books from the library

Some Library licenses permit uploading of licensed online content to Moodle. More commonly, licenses permit you to create and post in Moodle “persistent links” to individual articles from licensed online resources. Learn more in the Licensing section of this guide.

A special note about Harvard Business Review (HBR) articles:

HBR has more restrictive license terms than most online resources available through the Library. HBR does not allow uploading PDFs of downloaded articles or linking directly to articles in Moodle or Talis. Some HBR articles preclude the ability print, download or create permalinks. For help with HBR articles please contact Lindsay Willson.

Websites

Faculty, students, and staff can 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. 

How are you providing access to the readings?

Moodle, email or Talis Aspire

All materials shared online must be copyright compliant, following the guidelines above.

In the Copyright Act, online learning is equal to a live classroom and instructors can share lessons containing copyright-protected works with students digitally, provided that: 

• The use of the work falls under fair dealing or educational exceptions
• The audience is only students enrolled in the course. For example, lessons posted to a password protected learning management system, such as Moodle
• Students and the educational institution destroy any recording of the lesson within 30 days of the final course evaluation

Custom print coursepacks

You can include a copyrighted work in a coursepack only if that work is covered by a library license that allows coursepack use, or if it falls within fair dealing guidelines. 

Custom coursepacks are coordinated by the Campus Bookstore.

Permissions 

If you want to use a work in a coursepack that is not covered by a licence or copyright exception you must get permission from the copyright holder. Permissions are granted on a per-use basis.

Print handouts

From print sources (books, magazines, journals)

You can make multiple copies of an article or other copyrighted work for distribution only if that work is covered by the fair dealing provision of the Copyright Act. 

Fair dealing generally allows: 

• Up to 10% of a copyright-protected work 
• One chapter from a book
• A single article from a periodical

From library databases (e-books, e-journal articles)

Some license agreements between the Library and individual publishers or distributors for online resources such as e-journals include clauses that permit the use of content as class handouts. Check the license to be sure, as each database has different permissions.

This page was adapted from Langara's Copyright for Instructors: Course Readings which is licensed under a a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Information obtained from or through this site does not constitute legal advice, but is provided as guidelines for using works for educational purposes.

The Copyright at Okanagan College website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 International License.