Teaching and Instruction
Creating Teaching Tools

 


When creating instructional tools (i.e. course slides and presentations, instructor notes, manuals, guides, etc.) you may find it necessary to incorporate copyright content into your resources from time to time. The following provides information to consider and guidelines to follow.

For information about distributing or providing students with access to course readings or handouts, please see the Course Readings page.

Original Content

Any original content you author and own can be used as you like. If your material was published you may have assigned copyright ownership to the publisher so review terms for ownership and use information. In some cases, particularly for Journals, this information is available in the author submission guidelines. Alternatively, the following site maintains an extensive database that lists many Journal Publishers' use guidelines http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/.

Licensed or Subscription

You can use material that is pre-authorized for educational use under a licence, subscription, or other contractual permission. Review terms for conditions and/or limitations. Examples of licensed resources include:

Creative Commons licence;
online collections available for free (i.e. Open Access Repositories);
collections licensed for use by the University of Alberta (e.g. ARTstor digital image library);
personal or institutional subscriptions (e.g. Photos.com);
Publisher issued licence that accompany the textbook you are using.(e.g. “for classroom use” means you have permission)

Online / Internet

Unless the site indicates otherwise, all material available online is subject to copyright under the Canadian Copyright Act. Permission to use material is often located in a website’s fine print, such as the ‘Terms of Use’ or ‘Legal Notices’. Check the terms for restrictions or limitations. In some cases, using content may fall within a 'fair dealing' user exception.

Copyright Expired - “Public Domain”

Once the general term of copyright in a work has expired, the material is no longer subject to protection under Canadian law and may be freely used. In Canada, the general term of copyright is life of the author plus an additional 50 years. Work through the online Canadian Public Domain Flowchart to help determine if a work is still in copyright or if it expired. When using non-original material adhere to acceptable academic citation practices.

Display and Distribute Slide Presentations
 

Download the University of Alberta Guidelines for Using Images

Display Slides Only

If you want to display copyright material only (no copies provided), you can do so under an exception in the Canadian Copyright Act. The Act states that it is not an infringement of copyright to project an work using an overhead projector or similar device (i.e. PowerPoint slide) for the purposes of education or training on the premises of an educational institution.

Display and Distribute Slides

The Canadian Copyright Act allows a "fair dealing" exception for the use of copyright material where the purpose is to support the discovery of new knowledge and truth. As part of this discovery, you can incorporate content (i.e. images, text) to support an investigation or close study. For example: a lecturer could evaluate or comment upon an content itself, or the underlying idea/theory represented.

Conditions

Indicate the title of the work reproduced (if available), as well as the author and source for each portion. 
All copying must comply with the amounts and limits defined in the University of Alberta Fair Dealing Guidelines, except as otherwise noted. 
When using images, if you have a choice between high or low resolution options, choose the low resolution. 
Exercise due diligence in ensuring the copy reproduced is made from a lawful source. 
 

Affix Notice

Instructors who choose to share their presentation material with students may do so provided distribution is limited to students enrolled in the program. Posting to a secure online environment that requires students to authenticate is acceptable. Include the following notice:

"Copyrighted material contained herein is reproduced under ss. 29-29.4 of the Canadian Copyright Act. This document is available for your individual use; further distribution may infringe copyright”.

Copying outside these guidelines may be permitted depending on intended use. Contact the University Copyright Officer at copyright@ualberta.ca for assistance.


Showing a Movie
 


Under an exception in the Copyright Act, instructors may show a movie to students on the premises of the University for educational purposes. There is no requirement to report the movies you show.

Performing a film in public for any other purpose requires permission from the rightsholder prior to the event.


  Go to
  Home
Teaching & Instruction
  Distributing Course Readings
Compliance & Permissions Service
Resources
Use of Copyright Materials Policy - UAPPOL

  Contact
  Copyright and Licensing Office
5-25 Cameron Library
Edmonton, AB T6G 2J8


Coursepack Requests and
General Inquiries
Copyright Help Desk
780.492.8327
copyright@ualberta.ca


University Copyright Officer

Cindy Paul
780.492.0151
cindy.paul@ualberta.ca



Last Update: January 14, 2013

The information provided within this site is not legal advice. Consult with a lawyer should you require legal assistance.
© 2012 University of Alberta, Learning Services