CAUT Intellectual Property Advisory | Dec 2008
Fair Dealing is the right, within limits, to reproduce a substantial amount of a copyrighted work without permission from,or payment to, the copyright owner. Its purpose is to facilitate creativity and free expression by ensuring reasonable access to existing knowledge while at the same time protecting the interests of copyright owners. It is important that academic staff know their fair dealing rights and exercise them to the fullest extent. It is equally important that universities and colleges codify robust fair dealing practices in institutional policy. Such guidelines are necessary because the Copyright Act does not contain a simple formula that sets out exactly what may or may not be copied without permission or payment. Rather, fair dealing requires the exercise of judgement. This advisory, drawing on jurisprudence from the Supreme Court of Canada, offers direction in the exercise of this judgement and a framework for codifying institutional fair dealing policies.