Copyright at Trent

Under Section 29 of the Copyright Act Fair Dealing is used if use falls under one of the following allowable purposes:

• Research
• Private Study
• Education
• Parody or Satire
• Criticism or Review
• News Reporting

If use does come under one of the above uses, then step two is followed of using a six factor fairness test of the use.

The Copyright Act does not define fairness. Fair dealing is context-specific and depends on the facts of each case. Six factors to be considered in assessing fairness are:

1. Purpose of the Dealing: Is the copying done for an allowable purpose as defined in s.29, including research, private study, education, parody, satire, criticism & review, news reporting?
2. Character of the Dealing: Does the copying involve single or multiple copies? How are copies distributed and to whom? How is access to the copied material controlled?
3. Amount of the Dealing: What proportion of the work is copied, and how important is the excerpt in relation to the entire work? Is the copying substantial or can it be considered a short excerpt?
4. Alternatives to the Dealing: Is there a non-copyrighted equivalent available? Is the dealing reasonably necessary to achieve the purpose?
5. Nature of the Work: Is the work published or unpublished? Is the work in question confidential?
6. Effect of the Dealing on the Work: Is the dealing likely to compete with the market for the original work? Is the dealing likely to have a negative impact on the market for the original work? 

If, having taken into account these considerations, the use can be characterized as ‘fair’ and it was for the purpose of research, private study, education, satire, parody, criticism, review or news reporting, then it is likely to fall within the fair dealing exception and will not require permission from the copyright owner. In addition, if your purpose is criticism, review or news reporting you must also mention the source and author of the work.

A short excerpt means:

• 10% or less of a work, or 
• No more than:
  • One chapter of a book;
  • A single article from a periodical;
  • An entire artistic work, including a painting, print, photograph, diagram, drawing, map, chart or plan from a work containing other artistic works;
  • An entire newspaper article or page from a newspaper;
  • An entire single poem or musical score from a work containing other poems or musical scores;
  • an entire entry from an encyclopedia, annotated bibliography, dictionary or similar reference work.