The Copyright at Queen’s policy outlines a number of situations where it is lawful to copy copyrighted works without permission or payment.

They are:

• Material in which Copyright does not Subsist – Copyright does not protect facts and ideas.
• Material in the Public Domain - Works in which the term of copyright has expired can be copied without permission or payment.  This means the works of creators who have been dead for more than 50 years can be copied, regardless of where they lived or published their work.
• Insubstantial Portions – Copying an insubstantial amount of a work is not a violation of the Copyright Act and does not trigger the requirement of permission or payment.  What will constitute a substantial part of a work is assessed from a quantitative and qualitative point of view. Regardless of the quantity of the work copied, if that part is distinctive, valuable or an essential part of the work, the copying will infringe the owner’s copyright. Examples of insubstantial use can include selected sentences, paragraphs, verses or choruses from an article, book, poem or song and short clips from a film or television production.
• Works with Implicit or Explicit Consent to Copy – Material specifically presented for public use – including Open Access publications, works placed in Institutional Repositories and works covered by Creative Commons Licenses – may typically be copied with minimal restrictions.  When copying material posted on the Internet, a user should check what use rights the copyright owner permits.
• Links – Providing an Internet link to a work does not constitute reproduction and does not trigger the requirement of permission or payment. 
• Licensed Material – Queen’s purchases a wide variety of licenses for digital materials.  See Electronic Journals, Newspaper Articles and Ebooks for more information.
• Accessibility – Copying for the purpose of making a work accessible to a person who could not otherwise access it because of a disability is not a violation of the Copyright Act, provided the work is not commercially available in the required form, such as a large print book (see Library Services for Students with Disabilities).

There are also a number of exemptions in the Copyright Act that allow for the copying of copyrighted works without permission or payment. The most well known is an exemption called fair dealing that allows for copying as long as it can be considered fair and is for the purpose of research, private study, criticism, review or news reporting.  

According to the Copyright at Queen’s policy:

Fair dealing does not permit making copies of required readings for library reserve, or posting copies of required readings on course management systems i.e. Moodle, or on course websites (pg. 7).

For more information on Fair Dealing, see our Fair Dealing Guidelines. 

The rest of this page will look at the copyright issues surrounding different types and formats of material.

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At Queen’s, we have subscriptions to hundreds of databases that include millions of journal articles, newspaper articles and ebooks. For each of these databases, Queen’s signs a license with a provider that allows us to use the materials in these databases for different purposes. Most databases allow for linking to material, but some also allow for including material in courspacks and for posting material on Learning Management Systems like Moodle.

For a quick summary of how licensing works and to read some general guidelines, see What are Licenses for Electronic Resources in our FAQ.

In the past, it has been very difficult to find out what rights were included in each license, but we have now put in place (with the support of Scholars Portal) a database that allows you to find out exactly what is permitted under the terms of the licensing agreements that we have with each database provider. The information from this database will be integrated into all of our services – so you will not need to search a stand-alone database to find out what you can do with specific articles.

Watch a quick video of how this new service works here:
OUL Licensing Database 2-Minute Demo

Why linking is still best?

Even though some journal databases will allow you to upload articles directly to Learning Management Systems, linking to the material is still the best option. Why? Well, for one, linking to material in our digital collection will help the library collect statistics related to the use of these resources. These statistics may help drive purchasing and cancellation decisions in the future. Also, by providing a link, you will always have the most up to date copy of the resource.

The Queen’s library website includes step-by-step tutorials for finding and creating links to material in our online catalogue: http://library.queensu.ca/help/links-permanent

Queen’s Library Reserve and the Copyright Advisory Office can help you with creating links. If you would like to take advantage of this service, contact your liaison librarian or email copy.right@queensu.ca for more information.

What if the database I want to use does not allow for linking?

Contact the Copyright Advisory Office and we will figure out an alternative way for your students to find the article in question (copy.right@queensu.ca).

How can I find out the types of resources that are available electronically through the library catalogue?

There are a number of tools that you can use to find electronic materials available through the library. This is not a comprehensive list of solutions - your liaison librarian is a subject expert in your field and knows all of the best tools and strategies for finding information. Contact your subject librarian for help finding materials in your class.

Situation 1: I want to conduct a general search for articles and ebooks on a specific topic.

Solution: Summon

Summon is a tool that allows you to search our print and online collections at the same time. This tool will allow you to search for specific newspaper articles, scholarly articles and e-books across most of the platforms that we have in our collection. 

To start a search and to find out more about Summon, visit the following page:
http://library.queensu.ca/summon

• Search for Articles: http://library.queensu.ca/research/articles/
• Search for Ebooks: http://library.queensu.ca/research/ebooks/

Situation 2: I want to find a specific journal in the library catalogue.

Solution: Queen’s Catalogue

If you are searching for a specific journal, the best option is to search the QCAT Library Catalogue.

Visit: https://qcat.library.queensu.ca/vwebv/searchBasic

• Enter your journal title in the search bar.
• Select “Journal Title Exact” under “within”

Situation 3: I am looking for resources in a specific format or topic.

Solution: Library Subject Guides.

The librarians at Queen’s have put together incredibly useful subject guides on a wide variety of subjects and formats, including guides for finding newspapers, government information, primary sources and images.

You can find guides (listed by subject) on our Research by Subject page.

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Uploading substantial portions of scanned materials (eg. chapters from books) for your class would be a copyright infringement under current Canadian Copyright law.

What can I do if I have a chapter of a book that I want to provide for my class?

Currently, the best option for these types of materials is to provide students with print copies using a coursepack through either the Campus Bookstore or the AMS Publishing and Copy Centre.

If you do want to use a scanned copy of a print article in Moodle, you will have to get permission – either from the copyright holder or from a copyright collective. We have instructions on how to get permission available in our Copyright and Teaching guide. 

If you would like help with getting permission, email the Copyright Advisory Office at copy.right@queensu.ca.

Will there be options for scanned material in the future?

Queen’s is currently looking at different options for providing an enhanced e-reserve system that may include copyright clearance for chapters of books. One option that is being considered is an e-reserve platform called ARES.

Follow the Copyright Advisory Office news feed for updates: http://library.queensu.ca/library/news/subject/copyright

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When you purchase an album or song, you are purchasing the right to play this song for personal use. While there is an exemption in the Act that does allow you to play your own purchased music in class without requesting permission from a Copyright holder, the Act is clear that the performance must be “done on the premises of an educational institution for educational or training purposes and not for profit, before an audience consisting primarily of students of the educational institution” (s. 29.5).

This means that, if you want to post or upload a song to your course website, you will need to get permission from the copyright holder or through a copyright collective like SOCAN.  Getting permission for streaming music is often times difficult, so, whenever possible, we recommend doing the following: 

• Link to a copy of the song on Youtube or on a popular website like Myspace. If you do link to music on the web, make sure that it was posted legally (eg. a band website, a large corporation like MuchMusic etc.).
• Link to music available in the Queen’s library digital collection (see our Music subject guide for more information).

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Converting Videos from DVD/VHS to an online format

Videos are a complicated issue. Faculty must have public performance rights in order to show a video in a face-to-face classroom. These rights will allow you to show a video in class, but they do not currently apply to converting a DVD or VHS tape and streaming in online. This means that, if you do want to digitize a video, you will have to get permission from the copyright holder. 

Getting permission to stream video clips over the Internet is often a very difficult task. Video creators and producers are often reluctant to grant permission for streaming.   

If possible, we recommend doing the following:

• If the video is available for free on the internet or through a streaming collection purchased through the library, link to it.
• If the video is available for purchase in a digital format, talk to your liaison librarian to see if it can be purchased for the library.

Online video

In most cases, you can link to online videos that are on YouTube, Vimeo or similar streaming services without encountering any copyright related issues. 

If you are using online videos, Seneca College libraries have put together a helpful video that includes criteria for evaluating web videos for classroom use: http://infoliteracy.senecac.on.ca/videos/Youtubevideo/Youtube.html

Streaming Lectures

Streaming your lectures is not a copyright issue unless your lecture includes copyrighted materials that would be problematic if posted on a learning management system site.

For example, showing a lecture that includes the screening of a film would require permission from the film producer – even if you have purchased public performance rights for showing the film in your class.

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One common misconception regarding copyright law is that material posted on the Internet is not covered under the law because it is freely available to anyone with a computer and an Internet connection.  This is not the case - copyright law protects websites in the same way as other materials. This means that, if you want to copy material from a website and use it on your Learning Management System site, you will have to get permission from the copyright holder.

Note: Many educational sites choose to use a Creative Commons license for the content on their website. Look for the Creative Commons logo somewhere on the page to find out if a site is licensed through the Creative Commons and click on the logo to find out the usage rights for the site.

This is the license that this page uses for all web materials:


This page is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 Canada License.

While making a copy of a webpage and uploading it to a course webpage or learning management system generally requires permission from the copyright holder, it is generally acceptable to provide your students with a link to a site.

When you are linking to a website: 

• Make sure that the terms of use for the site allows for linking. Terms of use (if applicable) can generally be found in the footer of a webpage.
• Do not link to sites that are house illegal materials (eg. file sharing sites, torrent sites etc.).

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There is an exemption in the Copyright Act that allows you to project slides with copyrighted images and figures in class as long as the class is held on Queen’s campus or at a Queen’s sanctioned event. This exemption does not apply to slides emailed to students,posted on course websites or posted on learning management system sites.

If you do want to upload your slides to your Learning Management system site, you may be able to include the figures if:

1. Your use does not constitute a substantial part of a copyrighted work (To help in determining substantial, see Substantial vs. Insubstantial); or
2. You satisfy the fair dealing exception, i.e. you critique or review the figures in your presentation and your use, in terms of its scope, duration and distribution, is fair (Section 3.3 of our FAQ  includes a number of limitations that should be considered when applying the fair dealing exception); or  
3. You get permission from the copyright holder. 

Strategies for getting permission:

In some cases, textbook publishers will allow you to include copies of figures in your PowerPoint presentations, but usually only when the textbook is adopted for the course. You should check with the publisher first before posting the figures and comply with whatever conditions they attach to your use of the work.

If you are using excerpts from articles and books, it is often very easy to get permission. Try searching for the title using the Copyright Clearance Center’s Rightslink database. Often times, you can get permission for free or for a very low cost.

For other strategies, please visit the permissions section of our copyright and teaching guide.

Removing copyrighted material:

If the material you include in your PowerPoint slides would not be covered by any of the criteria listed above, it is recommended to remove the copyrighted image before uploading it to your course website/learning management system. To help with this, please use the following PowerPoint slide. This slide is editable so that you can add the source url/citation for the missing resource.

PowerPoint Slide (ppt)

Visit the resources page in our Copyright and Teaching guide for tips and tools for finding resources that can be used in your PowerPoint slides without restrictions. 

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