LibGuides: Copyright Guide for Faculty: Fair Dealing

Fair Dealing

Fair Dealing is an exception in the Copyright Act (section 29) that allows limited copying for the purpose of research, private study, review, criticism, review, news reporting, parody, satire, or education.

As a non-profit educational institution, JIBC faculty and staff may copy or communicate a short excerpt from a copyright-protected work to students enrolled in a class or course:

as a class handout
as a posting to a course management system that is password protected or otherwise restricted to JIBC students

Copyright Decision Tools

Copyright Decision Tree
Created by Simon Fraser University, this tool "provides steps to determine whether you can use a copyright protected work in the way you would like to, both for teaching and for other purposes."
Fair Dealing Decision Tool
An online resource to inform educators of their rights and obligations to ensure compliance with copyright law.
Launched by the Copyright Consortium of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC).

Fair Dealing Myths and Facts
An infographic responding to common myths about fair dealing in Canada. From the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL).

What is a "Short Excerpt"?

A "short excerpt" refers to:

up to 10% of a copyright-protected work

1 chapter from a book
1 article from a journal or magazine
1 article or page from a newspaper
1 entry from an encyclopedia, dictionary, annotated bibliography, or similar reference work
1 poem or musical score from a work containing other poems or musical scores
an entire artistic work from a work containing other artistic works

... whichever is greater.

You must have legal access to the work for fair dealing to apply.

Copying or communicating multiple short excerpts from the same copyright-protected work, with the intention of copying or communicating a substantial portion of the entire work is prohbited.

Background Information

The fair dealing provision in the Copyright Act permits 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.

First, the "dealing" must be for a purpose stated in the Copyright Act: research, private study, criticism, review, news reporting, education, satire or parody.
The second test is that the dealing must be "fair". In landmark decisions in 2004 and in 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada provided guidance as to what this test means in educational institutions. This test is often referred to as the Six Factors Analysis.

These criteria should be applied to help determine whether a use of (or dealing with) a work is fair.