This is part three in a five-part series of blog posts celebrating Fair Dealing Week 2021 (February 22nd to February 26th, 2021).

by Lachlan MacLeod

Fair dealing is a powerful tool for using copyrighted works in the classroom. It allows instructors to use photos and videos in-class lectures, reduce the cost of materials for students, and facilitate access and accommodation for students. Faculty can also benefit from fair dealing in the context of research, allowing academics to build upon existing research, and facilitating access to scholarly works.

Fair dealing is available in the contexts of education and research, but it is important to remember that copyright in Canada is a balance: between users’ rights on one hand, and the creator’s rights on the other. So, while instructors can engage in copying for their classes, it must be done in a fair and ethical manner.

One of the best resources to make sure your class readings fall under fair dealing is to make use of the Dalhousie Libraries Course Reserves Service. By using course reserves, you can help take the guesswork out of applying fair dealing guidelines for every work that is used as part of class readings, and reduce the cost of material for your students. Course reserves can upload material to Brightspace or create Stable Links to course readings.

Dr. Mike Smit discusses the importance of fair dealing in this video.

For more information on how fair dealing affects Faculty, please take some time to read about Fair Dealing for Faculty, and consult our Fair Dealing Guidelines. Please feel free to contact the Copyright Office with any questions or comments at copyright.office@dal.ca