Use of copyright-protected content on campus is governed by the Copyright Act, legal precedent, international treaties, and license agreements between the College and content providers. These form the foundation of Langara’s copyright policies and directives.
This guide provides information on how to effectively incorporate copyrighted materials into your Brightspace courses, by format type:
- Print materials (books, journal articles)
- E-resources (e-books, online journal articles, streaming media)
- Physical media (videos, DVDs)
- Materials on the internet (websites, YouTube videos)
- Images
- Alternatives to copyrighted materials
For more information on how to manage your rights and responsibilities as an instructor, visit Langara’s copyright website.
A note on fair dealing and educational exceptions
Fair dealing is a provision in the Copyright Act that permits use of short excerpts from copyrighted materials for education, research, and other purposes, without payment or permission from the copyright owner. See Langara’s fair dealing guidelines for details.
The Copyright Act provides additional exceptions for education. These allow instructors to use copyrighted materials in ways that would normally constitute infringement. For example, instructors may:
- Copy content from the web to share with students
- Show personal copies of films in class
- Play sound recordings in class
See the educational exceptions guide for details.
Integrating copyrighted materials into your Brightspace course
1. Print materials (books, journal articles)
Instructors may scan a print article or short excerpt from a book and upload it to Brightspace (or another password-protected site), provided it adheres to Langara’s fair dealing guidelines.
If your use exceeds fair dealing, this doesn’t mean you can’t use the work. Rather, it means you require permission from the copyright owner. Copyright Office staff will facilitate the process on your behalf; contact us for assistance.
If a resource is available both in print and online, it is best practice to link to the online version. See the library’s guide to Linking to library resources: e-books, videos, and journal articles for step-by-step instructions.
Reference: Copyright Act, Section 29
2. e-Resources (e-books, online journal articles, streaming media)
Langara Library subscribes to a wide range of online resources. Use of these materials is governed by license agreements (contracts) with content providers. These contracts take precedent over fair dealing and educational exceptions in the Copyright Act.
The terms of these agreements vary. For example, some licenses allow instructors to upload PDFs to Brightspace, while others do not. To view the license terms for an online journal or database, see the licenses guide.
Most license agreements permit linking. See the library’s guide to Linking to library resources: e-books, videos, and journal articles for step-by-step instructions.
3. Physical media (videos, DVDs)
Instructors may show full-length copyrighted films in the classroom without payment or permission from the rights holder. For online courses, Langara’s preference is to purchase streaming access to films whenever possible. Contact media.acquisitions@langara.ca for assistance.
When streaming access is not commercially available, it may be possible to screen cast or capture excerpts of a film for use in online courses under the following sections of the Copyright Act:
- 29.5(d) – performance of cinematographic works (films) for educational purposes
- 30.01 – telecommunication of lessons
- 30.1 – obsolescence of technology required to use the original
Contact copyright@langara.ca for assistance.
4. Materials on the internet (websites, YouTube videos, musical recordings)
Instructors can reproduce, stream, and share publicly available material on the internet for educational and training purposes, provided:
- The content is not protected by a digital lock (for example, a login page)
- There is no clearly visible notice prohibiting educational use
- There is no suspicion that the work has been posted online without the copyright owner’s consent
Reference: Copyright Act, Section 30.04
5. Images
Images are protected by copyright. Instructors may use images they find online in their teaching, subject to the conditions outlined in section 4 above.
Images with open licenses or expired copyright can be used with fewer restrictions than other copyrighted works. For details, see section 6 below.
Reference: Copyright Act, Section 30.04
6. Alternatives to copyrighted materials
Some works can be used more freely than those protected by traditional copyright. This includes:
- Works with expired copyright (e.g. in the public domain)
- Works with open licenses (including Creative Commons licenses)
- Open access publications (including those in the Directory of Open Access Journals)
For suggested resources, visit Langara’s Find Open Resources By Type and Find Open Resources By Subject guides. Be sure to consult the license assigned to individual works (where available) for terms of use.
