- Can I include other people’s images and materials in my PowerPoint lecture presentations?
Under the educational exceptions in the Copyright Act, you can make copies of works to display in a class presentation on the UofW premises for educational and training purposes; provided the work isn't already commercially available in Canada and can be obtained in a reasonable amount of time, for a reasonable price, and in an appropriate medium.
You can record the lecture, either as a video or "voice-over powerpoint" and post it to Blackboard Learn for your students to access.
You can only post it to Blackboard Learn or make copies for your students if the third-party copyrighted material within your presentation qualifies as "Short Excerpts" under the Fair Dealing Policy.- I’ve come across several pages from a book that I want to distribute to my students. Can I photocopy them to hand out to my students?
- Yes you can, provided they qualify as "Short Excerpts" in accordance with the Fair Dealing Policy. Copies of "Short Excerpts" made in accordance with this policy can also be included in print coursepacks, however any fees charged by the university in the sale of coursepacks cannot exceed the costs, including overhead costs, of the making of the copy.
Before deciding to copy protected works for distribution, please keep in mind the growing amount of content in academic e-journals, scholarly e-books and the growing array of open educational resources (OERs) available for this purpose. Your Librarian is available to help you explore these alternative materials. - Can I play music in class?
Yes. If you're faculty, staff or a person acting under the authority of the university, the Copyright Act allows you to play a sound recording or live radio broadcasts in class as long as it is for educational or training purposes, not for profit, on university premises and before an audience consisting primarily of students.
However, if you want to use music for non-educational purposes, for example, for background music at a conference or in an athletic facility, a license must be obtained from the copyright collectives SOCAN and Re:sound.- Can I provide a public viewing of videos from Netflix or other commercial streaming services in my class?
No, unless the video has an explicit grant of permission for educational screenings. Netflix and other streaming platforms are commercial services provided to individual end users – not the University. In other words, UWindsor does not have an institutional Netflix account. Therefore, your use of Netflix must comply with the Terms of Use you agreed to when you signed up for the service. The rights you may otherwise have had, for example the Fair Dealing Policy, do not apply if they are inconsistent with the Netflix Terms of Use.
We recommend that you check YouTube, or any other publicly accessible site, to see if the clip you wish to use is legitimately available (see 2.5 below). Other options include:- Searching the Leddy Library to see if the title is in our catalogue or reviewing our streaming platforms.
- Purchasing or borrowing a physical commercial copy of the video (such as VHS, DVD or Blu-Ray)
- Placing a suggestion for purchase to the library.
- Requesting a video for class use.
- Can I play videos in class, including YouTube videos?
Linking to publicly available online content like news websites, existing online videos, etc. is rarely a copyright issue so long as you avoid content that looks obviously infringing itself. For example, a user posted YouTube video of the entire "Avengers: Endgame" movie. Linking to most Youtube videos, especially ones that allow sharing and embedding, should be fine.
You can show the following works in class, as long as it's for educational or training purposes, not for profit, on UofW premises, and shown before an audience consisting primarily of students:- a movie or other cinematographic work, provided that the work is not an infringing copy (i.e. legally obtained or purchased) and you do not circumvent a Digital Lock to access the work (see FAQ 3.3).
- a copy of a news program or news commentary program (excluding documentaries) made by you or UofW.
- a video or other subject matter that is available through the Internet, e.g. available on YouTube, as long as you satisfy the following criteria:
- you don't break or circumvent a Digital Lock to access or obtain a copy of the work (see FAQ 3.3);
- there is no clear and visible notice on the website or on the work itself that prohibits the use or reproduction of the work (more than just a copyright symbol);
- the website is not questionable, infringing, or clearly using the work without the copyright owner's consent; and
- you identify the source of the work, a copy of a news program or news commentary program (excluding documentaries) made by you or UofW.
Please note that Leddy Library has thousands of streaming videos available that are licensed specifically for classroom use - see what's available here.- Are there any databases of materials that I can use for free without worrying about copyright?
There is a wealth of material that is either in the public domain or made available under a Creative Commons license that you can use without having to to worry about copyright.
A selected list of websites with a growing amount of textual and visual material is available under Alternative Online Resources.
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