CLASSROOM USE OF MEDIA
College of the Rockies
At present, educational use of audio-visual and new media resources in the classroom is considered a
public performance and must be cleared for it. Although it is recognized that educational institutions
require quick and easy access to these copyrighted materials, such materials must not be appropriated in
such a way as to adversely affect the market for them nor to circumvent the proper channels for acquiring
permission to use them. Any use, without permission, is in violation of the Canadian Copyright Act. The
rights affecting the use of these materials are Public performance rights, Duplication rights, Off-air taping
rights, Moral rights, Digital rights and Publishing rights.
Following is a guideline to the use of various formats and the rights affecting them.
Video, Film, DVD, Laserdisc, CD, Audiocassette
A. Public Performance Rights
- All titles in COTR’s collection have been purchased with Public Performance rights, unless
otherwise indicated in the cataloguing records and on the items themselves. This means they
may be used in the classroom without obtaining any further permission.
- Titles borrowed or rented from an outside source (other colleges, video rental outlets, personal
purchases, etc.) for classroom showing, must be cleared for Public Performance. To facilitate
this, COTR has acquired an Institutional Feature Film Public Performance License that allows
feature film titles to be shown without further permission or payment. Since not all titles are
covered, please direct requests for permission to use to Lynn Hughes in the Library, ext. 3407.
- A Public Performance License is not necessary for audio CD’s and cassettes used in an
educational classroom provided they are legal, commercial copies. This does not apply to noneducational use of audio recordings. Permission must be obtained for public use outside the
classroom. (Example: music played at a basketball game)
B. Duplication Rights
- You may not copy, edit, make compilations or transfer to another format (including streaming) any
video, audiocassette, CD, film, etc. without written permission from the copyright holder. This
also affects Moral Rights, which is the right to have the integrity of a work and the purpose for
which it was created, respected.
- An exception to this rule may be language cassettes that can sometimes be purchased with
limited duplication rights to make copies for a language lab.
- If titles are commercially available, permission to copy is rarely given or comes with a large price
tag.
- If you require duplication of a media title, please contact Lynn Hughes in the Library, ext. 3407.
C. Off-air Taping Rights
The Copyright Act was amended on January 1, 1999, to provide two new provisions for taping radio
and television programs for classroom use.
- One amendment permits a person acting under the authority of a non-profit educational institution
to make a single copy of a news program or a news commentary program and to use the copy on
the school premises for educational and training purposes. Documentaries are specifically
excluded. The copy can be made and shown without the permission of the copyright owner or the
payment of a royalty, an unlimited number of times, for up to one year from the date the copy is
made. After one year, the copy must either be erased or be paid for.
- The second amendment permits a person acting under the authority of a non-profit educational
institution to make a single copy of other types of radio and television programs (i.e., those that
are not news or news commentary programs) The copy may be examined for up to 30 days, to
determine whether the copy will be used on the premises of an educational institution for
educational purposes. If the copy is shown in the classroom at any time – including within the 30day evaluation period – or if it is not erased after 30 days, it must be paid for.
For both amendments, educational institutions are required to retain and provide information
relating to the making, erasing and performing of the copy, as well identifying information on
programs copied onto a given tape. Only an audience consisting primarily of students of the
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educational institution may view the program. The copy can only be made at the time the
program is aired. If copies are kept beyond the 30-day or one-year exemption periods, they must
be paid for, whether or not they are ever used. The Copyright Board of Canada has been given
the responsibility to certify the royalties to be paid for educational copying of radio and television
programs.
If you are planning to make use of either of the above, please contact Lynn Hughes in the Library,
ext. 3407.
D. Digital Rights
- The Canadian Copyright Act does not yet cover digital rights.
- Digital rights must be obtained from the rights holder of any non-print media (image, audio, video,
multi-media) for a digitized copy to be created for use in the classroom.
Slides and Transparencies
A. Duplication Rights
- Copies may be made onto acetate or similar transparent material under the same terms and
conditions as photocopying as covered by our Access Copyright license.
- Exception: A slide or transparency of a reproduction of a work of art may only be made if
unavailable commercially.
B. Digital Rights
- The Access Copyright license does not allow the digitization of an image for the purpose of
creating a transparency or slide. Permission must be obtained.
New Media – CD-Roms, On-line Databases, Web Pages
A. Digital Rights
- License agreements “Terms of Use” clauses generally cover how digital formats such as CDRoms and material from On-line Databases may be used in the classroom.
- Permission from the rights holder must be obtained for digitization of any material published to a
web page, including uploading to a Moodle online course page. (please contact Lynn Hughes in
the Library, ext. 3407.)
B. Duplication Rights
- License agreements “Terms of Use” clauses cover any restrictions on duplication of materials
from an on-line database.
- Printing or downloading material from a database is generally only allowed for private study or
research.
- Permission must usually be obtained from the rights holder for making multiple copies for
classroom distribution or for inclusion in course packs. (please contact Lynn Hughes in the
Library, ext. 3407.)
C. Publication Rights
- Putting content on a web page is referred to as ‘publishing’. When the rights to such content
belong to someone other than the creator of the web page, written permission to upload the
content (text, image, audio or video clip) must be obtained from the rights holder.
- As part of the license, some full text on-line databases (EBSCOhost) provide ‘persistent’ links
directly to the articles in their collections. These links may be included in course web pages
without obtaining further permission. The full text of the article, however, may not be scanned (a
violation of digital rights) and published to the web page without obtaining permission from the
rights holder.
- Modifying or enhancing the uploaded material requires additional permission.
- Permission to download, from a web page, any print or non-print media for classroom use must
be obtained from the copyright holder unless permission is granted on the page or the material is
in the public domain. (please contact Lynn Hughes in the Library, ext. 3407.)
- Permission to link, particularly deep-link to someone else’s web page should be obtained as a
courtesy to the creator of the web page.