Copyright - Digital or Electronic
Electronic Copies of Print Materials
Scanning for Powerpoint or other presentation software, with the above restrictions, is permitted only for in-class viewing. Electronic copying for other purposes, e.g. for use within
learn.rrc.ca (Desire2Learn)., or for posting on a course website, is not allowed without prior written permission. Access Copyright is NOT an agency which licenses rights to make electronic or other digital reproductions although Access Copyright will negotiate such rights on your behalf on a case-by-case basis, for a fee. Unfortunately there is no single source for seeking such permission. It is necessary to go to the individual publisher / copyright holder in most cases.
- Fulltext material from any of the EBSCO databases may be used without additional permission, however, EBSCO would prefer that a link be used rather than an electronic copy.
- For fulltext material from other database vendors, prior permission must be sought.
Procedure for Requesting Permission
- Before you start, make sure that you know who the copyright holder is.This information is usually located on the back of the title page for books, or on the information page of journals, usually at or near the front.
- If you wish to reproduce illustrations of any kind – charts, graphs, graphics, graphs – make sure that you know who the copyright holder is. It may be different from the copyright holder of the text. This applies even if the illustration is part of a book or is contained in a journal article. The information regarding the copyright holder is usually contained in the caption, in a footnote, or in the full bibliographic citation for the illustration. You may have to seek separate permission for those.
- Many major publishers have a specific form for requesting permission. These forms are usually multi-purpose and are therefore quite long and involved. Not all parts of the form will apply to your situation.
- Some forms specifically mention coverage for use on course websites or saving electronically, others simply suggest “other uses”.
- Not all publishers who have their own form provide automatic submission or email. In many cases you must download the form, then fax or mail it in.
- When filling out any form, try to be as specific as possible. If no form is specified on the publisher’s site, you may use the forms noted in the Quick LInks (Top right of this page)
- The average time to receive permission is indicated to be at least 4-6 weeks. Some may be as fast as 10 days: some offer a faster service for a fee. Most, if not all, publishers will charge a fee to reproduce material electronically. Unfortunately, none of the sites visited indicated what those fees would be.
- There is a service available from the United States that is used by many smaller publishers. The site provides an easy mechanism to discover if the title you wish to use is covered by their service and also provides forms that may be electronically submitted. For more information, visit the Copyright Clearance Centre site at: http://www.copyright.com Follow the link under CONTENT USERS, “for ACADEMIC Use”.
Conditions of Use
Most copyright holders will place a number of conditions on use of the requested material. Some may be more restrictive than others.
- The permission granted will be for a limited time period. If you wish to use the same material in subsequent periods you will have to re-apply.
- Payment is often based on the number of students in the course so try to be as accurate as possible.
- You must acknowledge receipt of permission by posting a notice on the material – something like “used with permission of ---“ – the exact phrasing required is often provided with the permission.