Copyright at Georgian

What is Fair Dealing?

Fair Dealing is an exception in the Copyright Act. Sections 29, 29.1 and 29.2 state a work used for the purpose of research, private study, education, parody or satire, criticism, review, and news reporting does not infringe copyright.

To qualify for the fair dealing exception, two tests must be passed:

1. The "dealing" must be for a purpose stated in the Copyright Act.
   This includes: research, private study, education, parody or satire, criticism, review, and news reporting.
   Educational use of a copyright-protected work passes the first test.

2. The "dealing" must be considered "fair".
   The Supreme Court of Canada provides guidance as to what this test means in educational institutions.  The six factors considered to determine if the dealing (your use) is fair are:

   1. The purpose of the dealing

   2. The character of the dealing

   3. The amount of the dealing

   4. Alternatives to the dealing

   5. The nature of the dealing

   6. The effect of dealing 

Please contact the Copyright Team [ copyright@georgiancollege.ca ] for help in applying Fair Dealing and Educational exceptions.

How much can be copied under Fair Dealing?

Fair Dealing allows a short excerpt to be made from book or journal that is protected by copyright.  What is considered to be a "short excerpt"?

A short excerpt has been defined by the Supreme Court of Canada to mean one of the following, whichever is greater:

• Up to 10% of a work
• One chapter from a book
• One article from a journal
• An entire artistic work (i.e. a painting, photograph, drawing, map, chart, plan) from a work that is copyright protected
• One single newspaper article or page from a newspaper
• An entire poem or single musical score
• One entire entry from an encyclopedia 

Remember to cite your source(s)! In order to ensure Copyright compliance, always acknowledge the source and author of the excerpt you are using.  This applies whether you use paper copies or post digital content to Blackboard.

When Fair Dealing does not apply

Copying multiple short excerpts from the same work is not compliant with copyright law or the fair dealing exception.
If you want to use more from one work contact the Copyright Team to find alternatives or assist you with requesting permission from the copyright owner to use more than a short excerpt.

Additionally, the following types of materials are not covered under the Fair Dealing Exception and may not be copied:

• Unpublished works
• Proprietary workbooks, work cards, assignment sheets, tests or examination papers
• Instruction manuals
• Newsletters with restricted circulation to a fee-paying clientele
• Business cases which are made available for purchase

If in doubt, please connect with us for assistance. We're happy to help!

Posting or Sharing Content with Students

A copy of a short excerpt from a copyright-protected work may be provided to each student enrolled in a class or course as a class handout (printed) or posted to a learning management system that requires a login/password.

These materials can be handed out, posted/shared only IF they are:

• intended for educational purposes
• limited to students enrolled in the course
• only for the duration of the course 
• restricted to Blackboard or Georgian community access only site

Note: It is a violation of copyright to share, post, or copy the content elsewhere for students without permission from the copyright holder.