Glossary of Copyright Terms
Access Copyright
A collective that carries out the collecting and distributing of royalties or levies payable according to the Copyright Act. UNB's institutional licence with Access Copyright expired as of 31 December 2010. For more information, please contact your liaison librarian.
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Artistic Work
Includes paintings, drawings, maps, charts, plans, photographs, engravings, sculptures, works of artistic craftsmanship, architectural works, and compilations of artistic works.
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Audio Ciné
A collective that carries out the collecting and distributing of royalties or levies payable according to the Copyright Act. UNB Libraries negotiates a contract with Audio Ciné Films. Refer to UNB Libraries' Film and Video Collection for more information.
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Collective Work
Refers to any published work written in distinct parts by different authors, such as encyclopaedias, dictionaries, year books (or similar works), newspapers, reviews, magazines, or similar periodicals.
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Copyright Act
First enacted in 1921, the Canadian statute's purpose is to grant sole rights of economic exploitation to authors of original literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works. The Copyright Act also promotes the advancement of knowledge by providing rights to the users of protected works.
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Copyright Infringement
The unauthorized use of material that is not your own, beyond the limits of Fair Dealing and Educational Exceptions.
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Criterion Cinema
A collective that carries out the collecting and distributing of royalties or levies payable according to the Copyright Act. UNB Libraries negotiates a contract with Criterion; refer to UNB Libraries' Film and Video Collection for more information.
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Crown Copyright
For any work prepared or published by the Canadian Government, copyright exists for the duration of the year in which it was published plus fifty years. The one exception to this is the Provincial Government of Ontario, for which the government does not claim excusive rights to material.
For more information, see Government of Canada Publications and the Copyright Act.
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Dramatic Work
Any piece for recitation, choreographic work, or mime, the scenic arrangement of acting form of which is fixed in writing or otherwise; any cinematographic work; or any compilation of dramatic works.
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e-Resources
An umbrella term used to describe licensed electronic information resources accessed via the UNB Libraries' website. These resources are purchased under license agreements that do not necessarily follow the terms of the Copyright Act. For more information, refer to UNB Libraries' e-Resources website.
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Educational Exceptions
A set of rules defined in the Copyright Act that permit educational institutions certain privileges that are not provided for in Fair Dealing. Reproducing works—either manually (dry-erase board, flip chart, etc.) or copied for use with an overhead projector—in classroom use is not an infringement of copyright. This exception does not apply if the material is available commercially, such as a course workbook. Educational institutions may also copy and keep "news programs" or "news commentary programs" for performance in education or training for up to one year after the date of the copy. It is important to maintain details of the date of copying, performances, and destruction of material for institution records.
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Fair Dealing
For the purpose of research, private study, criticism or review, and news reporting, Fair Dealing does not infringe copyright. To determine if you have “fairly” used the published works of others, you must consider six factors:
- Purpose: is the copying for research, private study, criticism or review, or news reporting? If “yes,” continue with the next five factors. If “no,” the dealing is not fair.
- Character: what is the intended use of the copy? For example, single copies are considered fairer than multiple copies; destroying the copy after use is also considered fairer.
- Amount: a larger volume of copying is considered less fair. However, it is important to note that in many circumstances it is necessary to copy entire works, such as photos, if they meet the remainder of the tests.
- Alternatives: are there other non-copyrighted works available that would have served the same purpose and was the copy necessary to achieve the purpose of the copy?
- Nature: is the work published and widely available? If the work is not published, then it is more likely to be considered fair.
- Effect: will the copy unduly affect the market value?
Specific examples of
fair dealing are:
- a copy of an article from a scientific, technical, or scholarly periodical;
- a newspaper article;
- an entry from an encyclopaedia, annotated bibliography, or similar reference material;
- a short story, play, poem, or essay from a publication containing other works.
It is important to remember that copies are for personal use and that proper credit must be given. Fair Dealing only applies to published works.
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License
A legal agreement that provides terms of access to copyrighted material. UNB Libraries has licensed agreements with book and journal vendors and aggregators, these contracts specify how material can be distributed, and generally restrict use to students, staff and faculty of the institution.
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Literary Work
Works, other than audiovisual, that are expressed in words or numbers in a format such as books, periodicals, manuscripts, tapes or diskettes.
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Moral Rights
The author's right to the integrity of his or her work. This includes the right to be associated with the work pseudonymously or anonymously. The term of moral rights coincides with the copyright in the work.
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Private Use
The reproducing of material intended solely for the purposes of the individual who makes the copy.
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Public Domain
Public domain is the term used for materials that are no longer covered by copyright law. The Canadian Copyright Act limits the term of copyright to the life of the author or creator plus fifty years. After the term of copyright expires, the work becomes public domain. This means materials in the public domain may be reproduced in any form without the permission of the copyright owner. It is important to remember that translation and republication of a work constitute a new work and the term of copyright is extended. For example, the term of copyright for a translated version of a work would be for the life of the translator plus fifty years; this does not affect the duration of copyright for the original work.
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Published Works
Works that have been reproduced for the purpose of public consumption.
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Term of Copyright
For most cases, the term of copyright in Canada is fifty years after the death of the author. This is often referred to as the "life-plus-fifty rule." In the case of joint authorship, copyright lasts for fifty years after the death of the author who dies last. The term of copyright for photographs is fifty years after the year of the creation of the negative or photograph. After the term of copyright expires, works become public domain and can be freely used. Copyright Act
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UNB Libraries' Copyright Officer
If you have any further questions on the above information please contact Josh Dickison by email at jjd@unb.ca or by phone at 447-3378.
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