Author Rights

40. What kind of print materials can be placed on Course Reserve? 

  • Personal materials of instructors, for which they own the copyright (e.g., assignment questions/solutions).  

  • Original print books, textbooks, legally obtained DVDs and CDs, etc.

  • Courseware for the current academic term.

12. What text should I use in my syllabus to protect the copyright to my course materials?

The University has guidelines for Faculty, Staff and Students Entering Relationships with External Organizations Offering Access to Course Materials. These guidelines provide sample text (see the bottom half of the guidelines) that can be inserted in your syllabus to protect the intellectual property contained in the course, whether it is created by you or others.

09. What are moral rights and what do they have to do with copyright?

Moral rights are additional rights held by authors of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works. They consist of rights that protect the integrity of a work and the reputation of its author. The right of attribution is the right to always be identified as the author of a work or to remain anonymous (for more information on attribution, see question 13).

06. How does copyright work internationally?

Copyright is recognized internationally thanks to international conventions. So, generally, your copyright will be protected in other countries, but there may be some differences in terms of how your work would be protected. If you’re concerned about someone’s use of your work outside of Canada, you will need to check the copyright laws of that jurisdiction to confirm whether the use in question infringes your copyright.

02. What rights does a copyright owner have?

Copyright gives the copyright owner several legal rights, such as the right to copy and translate a work, the right to communicate a work to the public by telecommunication, and the right to assign permission to third parties to circulate the work on the copyright owner's behalf. These rights are qualified by certain exceptions that balance the copyright owner’s interests with the public interest in allowing the use of copyright-protected works for purposes such as education and research.