Copyright  

Copyright literally means the right to copy. In Canada, all original creative works are protected by copyright as soon as they are fixed in some format. This includes print materials, art work, photos, videos, CDROMs, DVDs, computer software, web pages, emails, wikis and blogs. The Copyright Act grants a series of rights to the copyright owner, who is most often the author or creator of the work. If the work is created in the course of employment, the employer holds the copyright.

Only the copyright owner has the right to decide when and how the work is copied. Copyright protection is automatic upon the creation of a work, and applies whether or not a copyright statement appears on the material. The general rule is that copyright expires 50 years after the death of the author. The Copyright Act can be viewed online at http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/C-42/index.html.

Copyright protection has a legally defined time period that varies depending on the type of work, who created it, etc. Consult the Copyright Act for details. When the time ends, the protection ends. Works then belong to the public and anyone may use them without permission or the payment of royalties.

To be clear, the copy "in-hand" must have expired protection. There are many instances where works have been republished, thus, the text may be free of protection, but the copy held is still under protection and cannot be copied without permission or payment of royaties.

The Copyright Modernization Act (Bill C-11) has come into force. The changes to Copyright Law address many of the needs of educators in the 21st century.

Seneca College no longer has a licensing agreement with Access Copyright, Canada's copyright licensing agency, and is operating under the principles and guidelines of fair dealing.

Carolin Toppan (x77527)
Copyright Technician

The Copyright Technician is the first point of contact for Copyright and Trademark related questions and advice. Carolin obtains permissions to use copyright protected materials in teaching and Seneca College operational activities. Royalties and transactional licensing fee payments are also processed (though not necessarily funded by Seneca Libraries).

Laurie Hoyle (x22145)
Audio Visual Copyright Technician

The Audio Visual Copyright Technician is the first point of contact for film Public Performance Rights (PPR) related questions and advice. Laurie provides support for Seneca faculty, staff and students needing to obtain PPR to show a film at the College. Laurie also supports library staff ordering new film holdings for Seneca Libraries.

James Buczynski (x55197)
Copyright Librarian

The Copyright Librarian provides instructional sessions to Seneca faculty and staff focusing on the role of the Canadian Copyright Act in higher education and best practices in using copyright rightsholder's content in the classroom. He negotiates copyright collective licenses for Seneca Libraries and reviews transactional licenses. James develops and maintains Seneca Libraries' copyright website.

Jennifer Peters (X22070)
Teaching & Learning Technologies Librarian

The Teaching & Learning Technologies Librarian develops and provides online learning objects to address the copyright learning needs of faculty using educational technology at the College.

Joy Muller (x33042)
Copyright Team Manager

Joy Muller manages the Copyright team and ensures that copyright related considerations are given appropriate attention at the College, especially related to teaching and learning activities. In partnership with other College departments,  Joy developed and maintains the College's Copyright policy which will shortly undergo some changes. Joy was the Chair, Past Chair and is copyright and communication liaison of the Ontario Colleges - Heads of Library and Learning Resources Committee (HLLR) and is a member of the ACCC Technical Copyright Committee.

This site was designed solely for informational purposes for Seneca College faculty and staff.

All other users are encouraged to check and confirm the information with their institution.

This site is prepared by library staff and is not reviewed by legal counsel.