This guide and the resources included within are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license, except as otherwise noted. Questions and requests may be directed to Meaghan Shannon, Copyright Librarian at Queen's University: meaghan.shannon@queensu.ca.
The information on this page is intended for Queen's faculty and addresses the following:
- What Copyright is and How it Works,
- Term of Copyright Protection and the Public Domain,
- Copyright Infringement,
- The Importance of Copyright Compliance, and
- Comparison of Canadian and American Copyright Laws.
Additional information for Queen's faculty is available through the menu on the left hand side.
If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact the Copyright Advisory Office: qcopy@queensu.ca.
Copyright is a legal mechanism that grants economic and moral rights to authors of works while also granting rights to users of copyright-protected works. The use of copyright-protected works at Queen's University is informed by the Canadian Copyright Act, Canadian case law (decisions from Canadian courts), the Copyright Compliance and Administration Policy, including Appendix A: Fair Dealing Requirements for Educational Copying, and various license agreements that the university has entered into with copyright owners and representative organizations.
Copyright protects artistic, dramatic, literary, and musical works as well as performers' performances, sound recordings, and communication signals. This encompasses a wide range of content, from books, articles, posters and artwork, textbooks and manuals, figures and maps, songs and musical scores, films and documentaries, to software, databases, and websites. In order for a work to be protected by copyright, it must be original and it must be fixed in a format (ie a written article or a recorded song). Copyright protection will not apply to facts or ideas but it will apply to the expression of them.
Copyright grants economic and moral rights to authors of works. The economic rights allow authors and copyright owners to exploit the economic value and potential of their works by controlling or restricting whether their works are reproduced, distributed, communicated (ie shared online, transmitted via email, or broadcast via telecommunication channels), performed, exhibited, or translated/adapted. Authors and copyright owners also have the right to authorize any individual to exercise any of their economic rights on their behalf - this is why permission must be obtained from an author or copyright owner if the use of a work is not permitted in accordance with an exception in the Copyright Act, including fair dealing, or an existing license agreement. The exceptions in the Copyright Act are intended to balance an author's or copyright owner's economic rights and copyright interests with the public's interest in using works for specific purposes under specific conditions. It is important to note that authors can transfer their economic rights to other individuals or entities (ie publishers) which is why authors and copyright owners can be either the same or different individuals or entities.
Moral rights are also conferred upon authors of works. The moral rights allow authors to protect the integrity of their work, their reputations in association with their work, and their entitlement to be acknowledged or remain anonymous whenever their work is used. It is important to note that authors can waive their moral rights but the moral rights cannot be transferred to other individuals or entities. Even if the economic rights to a work have been transferred, the moral rights will remain with the author of that work if they have not been waived.
The following graphics illustrate what copyright is and how it works.
If you have any copyright-related questions or concerns, please contact the Copyright Advisory Office for assistance: qcopy@queensu.ca.
Upon creation, a work is automatically protected by copyright and the term of copyright protection generally lasts for the duration of the author's lifetime and for 70 years after the author's death. The term of copyright protection can vary for certain categories of works, such as government works that are protected by Crown copyright, anonymous works, unpublished works, and non-dramatic cinematographic works.
Once the term of copyright protection lapses, a work is no longer protected by copyright and it is considered to be within the scope of the public domain. The 'public domain' refers to a category of works for which the term of copyright protection has lapsed. Works that are within the public domain can be used without restrictions or authorization/permission from the author or copyright owner. Please note that while works in the public domain are no longer protected by copyright, the author and work should still be acknowledged, by way of an attribution statement, citation, credit line, or other form of acknowledgement, when the work is used for academic purposes.
The terms 'publicly accessible', 'Creative Commons-licensed' 'open access', and 'public domain' are often used interchangeably but it is important to note that these terms actually mean different things when it comes to the copyright status of a work.
The following graphic describes the differences between these terms.
If you have questions about the copyright status of a work or whether or not the term of copyright protection is in effect, please contact the Copyright Advisory Office for assistance: qcopy@queensu.ca.
Copyright infringement occurs when a work is used outside of the scope of exceptions in the Copyright Act, including fair dealing, outside of the scope of a license agreement, or without permission from an author or copyright owner. The risks and costs of copyright infringement can be quite severe:
Civil remedies for copyright infringement include injunctions, damages or statutory damages of $500-$20,000 for commercial purposes or $100-$5,000 for non-commercial purposes, and the cost of legal fees.
Criminal remedies for copyright infringement include fines of up to $25,000, up to 6 months imprisonment, or both upon summary conviction as well as the cost of legal fees, or fines of up to $1,000,000, up to 5 years imprisonment, or both upon conviction or indictment as well as the cost of legal fees.
Copyright depends upon reciprocity between authors of works and users of works. Queen's faculty are in the unique position of being both authors of works that are protected by copyright and users of copyright-protected works. Respecting the rights of other authors can inform how faculty exercise their own rights, and vice versa. Compliance with copyright results in the prevention of copyright infringement and is important because it demonstrates academic integrity, it demonstrates the acceptable and respectful use of copyright-protected material and works, it contributes to an ethical and respectful academic and professional environment, and it protects the reputation of Queen's University.
Queen's University's Copyright Compliance and Administration Policy outlines the university's position with respect to the acceptable and responsible use of copyright-protected material and works; the responsibilities of members of the university community who use copyright-protected material and works; and provides a framework for responsible practices with respect to the use of copyright-protected material and works and the prevention of copyright infringement.
If you have questions about complying with copyright or need assistance in order to comply with copyright, please contact Meaghan Shannon, Copyright Librarian: meaghan.shannon@queensu.ca.
Unless specified in a license agreement, the use of copyright-protected material and works at Queen's University will be governed by Canadian copyright law regardless of an author's nationality or where a work was published or purchased. Many faculty at Queen's may be familiar with American copyright law and while there are similarities between Canadian copyright law and American copyright law, there are also differences between them. Both laws confer automatic copyright protection at the time that a work is created and both laws ensure that copyright protection lasts for the lifetime of an author and 70 years after the author's death. Both laws also include exceptions for educational institutions but the Canadian 'fair dealing' exception is different from the American provision of 'fair use'. There are six 'fair dealing' factors to consider whereas there are four 'fair use' factors. Canadian copyright law grants stronger moral rights to all works and government works are protected by Crown copyright. American copyright law grants limited moral rights to works of visual art only and government works are not protected by copyright at all, they are considered to be within the scope of the public domain. Canadian copyright law also includes a licensing process for 'orphan works', works whose authors cannot be identified or located, whereas American copyright law includes no such process.
The following graphic identifies the key similarities and differences between Canadian and American copyright laws.
It's important to be aware of the copyright laws of the jurisdictions in which you are working, studying, conducting research, collaborating with others, and intending to publish your work. If you have questions about Canadian copyright law or the copyright laws of other jurisdictions, please contact the Copyright Advisory Office for assistance: qcopy@queensu.ca.