Durham College respects both user rights relating to use of copyrighted materials and copyright protection of intellectual property and distribution rights of creators and content providers.
Faculty, staff, and students, are subject to the protections and obligations outlined in the Copyright Act. Use of copyrighted material is also subject to the provisions outlined in Durham College's license with Access Copyright, as well as various agreements and licenses the college has with other copyright owners (for example, online databases or other electronic resources).
Members of the College community are responsible for informing themselves about the parameters of both Canada's Copyright Act and the institution's licenses and agreements. They must also ensure that any copying completed in connection with College activities complies with these guidelines.
In the absence of such limiting provisions, materials may be reproduced:
- In accordance with the fair dealing provisions under the Copyright Act for the purpose of research, private study, criticism, review or news reporting.
- Where the material is in the public domain, such as when the term of the copyright protection under the Copyright Act has expired (generally the life of the author plus 70 years).
- Where only an "insubstantial" part of the material is reproduced, as under section 3(1) of the Copyright Act, copyright means the sole right to reproduce any substantial part of a work. In determining whether the portion of the material being reproduced is "substantial" or "insubstantial", both the quantity, i.e. the amount copied, and the value, i.e. the importance of that portion to the entire work, should be considered.
- For the following maintenance or management activities in accordance with section 30.1 of the Copyright Act: (1) copying rare or unpublished originals, (2) copying fragile originals, (3) copying into an alternative format, (4) copying for record keeping and cataloguing, (5) copying for insurance and police investigations and (6) copying for restoration. Making a copy for activities (1), (2) and (3) is not permitted if the work is "commercially available."
