Copyright is a form of legal protection that affords the copyright owner the exclusive rights to, among other things:

1. Reproduce (copy)
2. Distribute
3. Publicly perform
4. Publicly display
5. Create “derivative works” (e.g., translations, revisions, other modifications)

Without permission from the copyright owner, or an applicable exception such as fair dealing under the Copyright Act (Opens in a new window), it is a violation of copyright law to exercise any of the copyright owner's exclusive rights.

For additional information on copyright literacy, see the Learning Portal's Copyright Literacy Module - opens in a new window.

A copyright licence is a grant of permission to use certain copyright rights. Copyright licences often have specific limitations that are outlined. For example, they may:

• Be limited in time
• Contain geographical restrictions
• Only allow for educational uses
• Only grant permission to use some of the copyright rights (for example, a licence may grant permission to download and distribute a work, but not the right to create derivative works)

When evaluating the permitted scope of uses, read all copyright language closely. Using a work in a manner that exceeds the scope of permissions granted in a licence is copyright infringement.

Under the Copyright Act of Canada (Opens in a new window), the author of the work is generally the owner of the copyright. However, if a work is created within the scope of the author’s employment, the employer holds the copyright unless there is an agreement to the contrary.

Check your college's copyright policies (Opens in a new window) and intellectual property policies. Collective agreements or employment contracts can also affect copyright ownership. Contact your college library if you need more information, since they may be able to direct you to relevant policies and contacts.

Public Domain

Works in the Public Domain are released from copyright protection, due to expiration of their copyright or by designation by the copyright holder. This content may be used in any way by anyone. In Canada, with some exceptions, copyright expires 50 years after the death of the creator.

Fair Dealing

In 2012, the Copyright Act of Canada (Opens in a new window) was amended to add education as a purpose of fair dealing.

Linking to Copyrighted Materials

It is not a violation of copyright to link to copyrighted material, nor is it necessary to obtain permission from the copyright holder to, for example, link to a YouTube video in a presentation.

Copyleft is a play on the word copyright. Copyleft is a strategy for encouraging the public's right to freely copy, share, modify and improve creative works and modified versions of those works. Copyleft describes any method that utilizes the copyright system to achieve these goals.

Copyleft as a concept is usually implemented in the details of a specific copyright licence, such as the Creative Commons Attribution Licence - opens in a new window, or the GNU General Public Licence - opens in a new window, that permits no-cost access, use, adaptation and redistribution with no or limited restrictions. Copyright holders of creative works can choose these licences for their own works to build communities that collaboratively share and improve their creative works.

Attribution:

Definition of copyleft is a derivative of What is Copyleft? - opens in a new window, by Copyleft.org, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 - opens in a new window

Open licences support creators that want to share their works freely, and allow other users more flexibility to reuse and share the creators’ works. Specific benefits include:

• Allowing others to distribute the work freely, which in turn promotes wider circulation than if an individual or group retained the exclusive right to distribute;
• Reducing or eliminating the need for others to ask for permission to use or share the work, which can be time consuming, especially if the work has many authors;
• Encouraging others to continuously improve and add value to the work; and
• Encouraging others to create new works based on the original work - e.g. translations, adaptations, or works with a different scope or focus.

OER are typically licensed under an open licensing system, with the most popular being the Creative Commons (CC) (Opens in a new window) licensing system.

Attribution:

Text is a derivative of Guide to Open Licensing, -opens in a new window by Open Knowledge International, licensed under CC BY 4.0 - opens in a new window

Creative Commons licences allow creators to retain certain rights while waiving some rights. There are six types of Creative Commons licence. All require attribution to the original creator(s). The creator can add on other restrictions such as non-commercial uses only and no derivative works. The six licences include: