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Copyright Guide for Faculty

Understand the basics of Canadian copyright law and how to legally use copyrighted materials.

Introduction

This section of the guide applies to the use of digital resources like library databases, articles, and case law, and materials that can be uploaded to Blackboard.

For information on using audiovisual materials, music, and images, check out the associated page in this guide:

NOTE: This guide previously held information on fair dealing guidelines surrounding website materials, scanned images, and scanned copies of book chapters, journal articles, and other print materials. This information is now available on other sections of this guide.

Uploading to Blackboard

Under fair dealing rules, you may scan and upload the following materials to Blackboard:

  • 1 chapter or up to 10% of a book
  • 1 article in a journal or other periodical
  • the text of Canadian federal, provincial and territorial statutes, regulations, and judicial decisions
    • Except for those of Manitoba, Quebec, and Nunavut
  • US federal government materials (these are in the public domain)
  • materials from some library databases (check the permitted uses of the database first)
  • judgments and statutes published in CanLII
NOTE: you may not copy any of the above if there is an explicit notice that prohibits copying, even for educational purposes. The copyright symbol © is not considered an explicit notice.

Ares Course Reserves

Ares (Automated Reserves System) Course Reserves is a one-stop online resource for all electronic and physical course items.

Ares is a tool that:

  • Provides students access to course materials all in one place
  • Allows instructors to organize material easily by topic or module. 

The system is available for all courses at JIBC, even if the course is not conducted in Blackboard.

Importantly, using Ares allows the JIBC Library to ensure copyright compliance for all posted items.

For more information about Ares Course Reserves check the Ares guide.

Linking to Online Articles

Linking to materials does not require permission as it does not require any copying of the material. If you are in doubt about the legality of sharing material with your students, it is better to provide a link rather than the material itself (or ask the library for help!)

The Library pays for license agreements with our electronic resources. These agreements generally allow for persistent web links to individual articles. For some databases, you are also allowed to embed PDFs directly into Blackboard. Always check the permitted uses for the database first.

To link to an online article you will need the item's permanent link (also known as a persistent link or permalink). Check the boxes below to see how to link to online articles from specific Library Databases.

EBSCOhost

  1. Conduct a search in one of the EBSCOhost databases, choosing the Full Text limiter.
  2. Click on the title of an article - not the HTML or PDF full-text link.
  3. In the top right corner of the resources page, click on "Share" in the toolbar.

    4. Screenshot of the info page for a resource in EBSCOhost. The toolbar is highlighted in red. The share button is selected.

  4. A new window will appear. Click "Create link." Copy the link that appears; it will look similar to this: https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=f4ec5ae1-aa4c-3ee8-8295-72c3902d2172

    5. Screenshot of the pop up share window in EBSCOhost. The create link button and link box are surrounded by a red box.

  5. Paste this URL into a document to link directly to the full-text of the article. To read the article off-campus, a student will need to enter the User ID and Password.

ProQuest

  1. Conduct a search in one of the ProQuest databases, choosing the Full Text limiter.
  2. Click on the title of an article - not the HTML or PDF full-text link.
  3. Near the bottom of the citation display in the Indexing (details) section, the Document URL is displayed.  
  4. Paste this URL into a document to link directly to the ful-text of the article. To read the article off-campus, a student will need to enter the User ID and Password.