MHC Copyright FAQ

Copyright owners have the sole legal right to:

• produce or reproduce the work
• perform the work in public
• publish the work
• translate the work
• adapt the work

A copyright owner can license any or all of these rights to someone else (individual or organization) temporarily, or assign them to another entity permanently.

Copyright is a set of rights that relate to the reproduction of works. Works include text, art, music, dramatic works and computer programs, as well as sound recordings, performances and communication signals. Copyright belongs to a works’ creator.

Only the copyright holder can reproduce a work or authorize others to do so.

Copyright protection is automatic as soon as an idea is expressed in a fixed form (this means put on paper, recorded, published, blogged, e-mailed, etc.)

Copyright belongs to creators of the following material:

• Literary, dramatic, artistic, musical works (e.g. book, letter, e-mail, blog, computer program, compilation, government publication, script, play, film, painting, sculpture, photograph, map, architectural drawing, sheet music, compositions, music video, etc.)
• Sound recording (e.g. lectures, animal sounds, nature sounds, music, audio book, etc.)
• Performances (e.g. dancing, singing, acting, etc.)
• Communication signals (e.g. pay-per-view, radio, satellite, broadcasts, etc.)

Copyright does not protect factual information or data, titles, short word combinations, names, characters, slogans, themes, plots, or ideas.

Some materials may be in the public domain or licensed with re-use rights (such as materials with a Creative Commons license).  You can search for such material using the Creative Commons search engine.

Probably. Under the Fair Dealing Guidelines you are allowed to make a copy of a single article from a journal to hand out to students. 

However, if the library has a license agreement with the journal that prevents class handouts you may have to pay a royalty or find another way to make it accessible for your students. Check with the Copyright Specialist if you have any questions 

You ask. If your use is not permitted by a license, or one of the exceptions in the Copyright Act, you will need to ask the copyright owner for permission. Identify who the copyright owner is and whether there is an organization that represents the owner or if you can ask the owner directly. There are a number of copyright collectives which can give you permission (in the form of a license) on behalf of the copyright owner to use their work.

Remember that copyright owners have the right to say no, charge a fee or impose conditions on the use of their work.

Contact MHC’s copyright specialist with any questions you might have about obtaining copyright permissions.