News

Reminder: Copyright Review of Course Materials for Fall 2026

Instructors are reminded that they should confirm whether their course materials for this upcoming term will require copyright review. Information on how to make this determination is available here.

June 23, 2026

News

Reminder: Copyright Review of Course Materials for Spring-Summer 2026

Instructors are reminded that they should confirm whether their course materials for this upcoming term will require copyright review. Information on how to make this determination is available here.

March 18, 2026

News

Reminder: Copyright Review of Course Materials for Winter 2026

Instructors are reminded that they should confirm whether their course materials for this upcoming term will require copyright review. Information on how to make this determination is available here.

October 29, 2025

News

New Opening Up Copyright Module: Insubstantial Copying

Did you know that insubstantial parts of works do not fall under copyright protection? Our new OUC Module on Insubstantial Copying is a short, interactive video that will help you learn about assessing substantiality.

October 6, 2025

News

Reminder: Copyright Review of Course Materials for Fall 2025

Instructors are reminded that they should confirm whether their course materials for this upcoming term will require copyright review. Information on how to make this determination is available here.

June 11, 2025

News

Reminder: Copyright Review of Course Materials for Spring-Summer 2025

Instructors are reminded that they should confirm whether their course materials for this upcoming term will require copyright review. Information on how to make this determination is available here.

March 17, 2025

News

Reminder: Copyright Review of Course Materials for Winter 2025

Instructors are reminded that they should confirm whether their course materials for this upcoming term will require copyright review....

October 24, 2024

News

Assigning Licensed Library Resources as Course Materials

Instructors are strongly encouraged, after having selected the materials they would like to distribute to their students as readings for a course, to explore whether some or all of those materials are available as licensed resources through the University Library....

October 8, 2024

News

Opening Up Copyright: K-12 Context

Do you have questions about navigating copyright issues in the K-12 context? There are two Opening Up Copyright instructional modules that can help you with information on topics such as the use of copyright-protected materials in schools and copyright rules related to student theatrical and musical performances.

August 13, 2024

News

Canada's Copyright Act at 100

In light of the centennial of Canada's Copyright Act, the University of Alberta Library News asked Adrian Sheppard, Director of the Copyright Office, to share his reflections and thoughts....

August 13, 2024

News

Reminder: Copyright Review of Course Materials for Fall 2024

Instructors are reminded that they should confirm whether their course materials for this upcoming term will require copyright review....

June 14, 2024

News

Reminder - Copyright Review of Course Materials - Spring/Summer 2024

Instructors are reminded that they should confirm whether their course materials for this upcoming term will require copyright review....

March 12, 2024

Commentary

Consultation on Copyright in the Age of Generative Artificial Intelligence

The Consultation on Copyright in the Age of Generative Artificial Intelligence was an online questionnaire released by the Federal Government on 12 October 2023 and open to all individuals and organizations. The consultation survey closed on 15 January 2024. The U of A Copyright Office submitted its responses to this consultation on 11 January 2024. Those responses are provided here.

January 31, 2024

News

Reminder - Copyright Review of Course Materials - Winter 2024

Instructors for Winter 2024 are reminded that they should confirm whether their course materials for the coming term will require copyright review. Here is how to make that determination....

October 24, 2023

News

REVISED Canadian Copyright Term and Public Domain Flowchart

The University of Alberta Copyright Office is pleased to announce that its Canadian Copyright Term and Public Domain Flowchart has been updated and fully revised...

September 15, 2023

News

Reminder - Copyright Review of Course Materials - Fall 2023

Instructors for Fall 2023 are reminded that they should confirm whether their course materials for the coming term will require copyright review. Here is how to make that determination....

June 20, 2023

News

Update to U of A Fair Dealing Guidelines Information Document

An updated version of the University of Alberta Fair Dealing Guidelines Information Document (dated 28 March 2023) is now available via UAPPOL. This is the first update to the document since 14 August 2017.

May 3, 2023

News

Reminder - Copyright Review of Course Materials - Spring/Summer 2023

Instructors for Spring/Summer 2023 are reminded that they should confirm whether their course materials for the coming term will require copyright review. Here is how to make that determination....

March 13, 2023

News

Extension to Copyright Term in Canada

Please note that the general term of copyright protection in Canada will be extended by 20 years, effective on 30 December 2022. This means that literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works protected by copyright will be protected for an additional 20 years, as the term will be extended from the life of the author/creator plus 50 years, to the life of the author/creator plus 70 years....

December 13, 2022

News

The Quad - Reconsidering the Copyright Bargain: the impacts of the CUSMA term extension

Effective December 30, 2022, the extension of the copyright term under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) will increase the standard term of copyright protection in Canada by twenty years....

December 12, 2022

Adrian Sheppard

News

Opening Up Copyright Modules - Update

The University of Alberta’s Opening Up Copyright (OUC) instructional modules team is pleased to announce the launch of five new modules....

November 2, 2022

OUC Team

News

Copyright 101: Core Concepts (UofA Library News - Blog Post)

The University of Alberta Library News has released a new blog post: "Copyright 101: Core Concepts"...

October 27, 2022

News

Reminder - Copyright Review of Course Materials - Winter 2023

Instructors for Winter 2023 are reminded that they should confirm whether their course materials for the coming term will require copyright review. Here is how to make that determination....

October 24, 2022

News

Reminder - Copyright Review of Course Materials - Fall 2022

Instructors for Fall 2022 are reminded that they should confirm whether their course materials for the coming term will require copyright review. Here is how to make that determination...

July 18, 2022

News

Reminder - Copyright Review of Course Materials - Spring/Summer 2022

All course instructors whose course materials for Spring/Summer 2022 are subject to copyright review (as outlined below) are reminded to submit a Copyright Review Request Form for those readings and related materials for each such course to copyright@ualberta.ca as soon as possible....

March 29, 2022

News

Crown copyright: Will the third time be the charm?

Amanda Wakaruk, U of A's Copyright and Scholarly Communications Librarian, has written an Op-Ed entitled "Crown copyright: Will the third time be the charm?," which appeared in The Hill Times on 04 November 2021....

November 8, 2021

News

Reminder - Copyright Review of Course Materials - Winter 2022

All course instructors whose course materials for Winter 2022 are subject to copyright review (as outlined below) are reminded to submit a Copyright Review Request Form for those readings and related materials for each such course to copyright@ualberta.ca as soon as possible....

October 26, 2021

Commentary

The Quad - Fairness and Balance: The Supreme Court of Canada Decision in Access Copyright v. York University

On Friday, July 30, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision on Access Copyright v. York University. The decision was wholly positive for the post-secondary sector....

August 27, 2021

Adrian Sheppard

News

Consultation on Copyright Term Extension (CUSMA)

The submissions to the Government of Canada's consultation on how to implement Canada's CUSMA commitment to extend the general term of copyright protection have now been made public....

June 23, 2021

News

Reminder - Copyright Review of Course Materials - Fall 2021

All course instructors whose course materials for Fall 2021 are subject to copyright review (as outlined below) are reminded to submit a Copyright Review Request Form for those readings and related materials for each such course to copyright@ualberta.ca as soon as possible....

June 21, 2021

News

Update to Canadian Public Domain Flowchart

The University of Alberta Copyright Office has updated its Canadian Copyright Term and Public Domain Flowchart. The updated version is available....

May 13, 2021

News

Reminder - Copyright Review of Course Materials - Spring-Summer 2021

All course instructors whose course materials for Spring and Summer 2021 are subject to copyright review are reminded to submit a Copyright Review Request Form for those readings and related materials for each such course to copyright@ualberta.ca as soon as possible....

March 31, 2021

News

Fair Dealing Week 2021 - Event Feb 23 and 24 - Registration Open

The University of Alberta and the "Lower Mainland Consortium" (SFU, UBC, Langara, KPU, VCC, and BCIT) will be co-hosting an online event for Fair Dealing Week 2021 on February 23 and 24. The event is free of charge, but registration is required. Registration for the event is now open and available here. The program includes three presentations....

January 29, 2021

News

The Quad - Finding Your Copyright Comfort Zone

If you are working or studying at a research university, you are probably regularly making decisions that involve copyright issues.... So, how can you make all this seem a bit less daunting? What steps can you take to find your copyright comfort zone?...

January 20, 2021

Adrian Sheppard

News

Fair Dealing Week 2021 - Save the Date

We are pleased to announce that the University of Alberta and the "Lower Mainland Consortium" (SFU, UBC, Langara, KPU, VCC, and BCIT) will be co-hosting an online event for Fair Dealing Week 2021. The presentations will take place on February 23 and 24. The program is as follows...

December 18, 2020

News

CARL Releases Copyright Resources for Universities

The Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) has today released a new Open Educational Resource, “Copyright for University Instructors and Staff." In a series of seven short self-directed modules, university employees are guided through instructional videos and brief quizzes that will help them navigate the complexities of copyright law in Canada.

December 17, 2020

News

Call for Proposals: Open Education Showcase 2021

The University of Alberta's Centre for Teaching and Learning will be celebrating Open Education Week (March 1 - 5, 2021) by hosting their first Open Education Symposium. CTL has released a Call for Proposals for this Open Education Symposium.

December 14, 2020

News

Internet Archive Event: Public Domain Day 2021

The Internet Archive is hosting an event entitled "Public Domain Day: Looking Ahead To 2021." This event is on Thursday, December 17.

December 14, 2020

News

Reminder - Copyright Review of Course Materials - Winter 2021

All course instructors whose course materials for Winter 2021 are subject to copyright review (as outlined below) are reminded to submit a Copyright Review Request Form for those readings and related materials for each such course to copyright@ualberta.ca as soon as possible....

October 28, 2020

News

Supreme Court of Canada to hear appeals in Access Copyright v. York University

On Thursday, October 15, the Supreme Court of Canada announced that it would hear the appeals from both sides of the Access Copyright v. York University case....

October 19, 2020

News

Resources for Instructors - Fall 2020

Here are some additional information and resources from a few U of A units to assist instructors in preparing for Fall 2020 under these extraordinary circumstances....

July 27, 2020

News

Sharing Your Teaching Materials Online

A new page has been added to the Copyright Office website to address copyright issues related to the online sharing of content created by U of A instructors for use in courses. Examples include the course syllabus, recorded lectures, instructor-authored readings and notes, and presentation slides.

July 17, 2020

News

Reminder - Copyright Review of Course Materials - Fall 2020

All course instructors whose course materials for Fall 2020 are subject to copyright review (as outlined below) are reminded to submit a Copyright Review Request Form for those readings and related materials for each such course to copyright@ualberta.ca as soon as possible....

June 30, 2020

News

Controlled Digital Lending: Internet Archive facing lawsuit

On June 1, 2020, four member companies of the Association of American Publishers filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the Internet Archive over controlled digital lending.

June 15, 2020

News

ABC Virtual 2020 - June Speaker's Series

The University of Alberta Copyright Office is pleased to be hosting two online presentations as a part of the ABC Copyright June Speaker's Series. These presentations are free of charge, but registration is required....

June 5, 2020

News

ABC Virtual 2020 - Rebecca Giblin Keynote

The keynote presentation by Rebecca Giblin on 21 May 2020 at the ABC Copyright Conference is now available on YouTube.

May 22, 2020

News

ABC Virtual 2020 - Registration Open

Registration is now open for two online presentations, one on May 21 and one on May 22, that will form ABC Virtual 2020...

May 8, 2020

News

The Quad - The York Appeal and Fair Dealing Guidelines

The long-awaited decision from the Federal Court of Appeal in the Access Copyright v. York University case was released on April 22. There are two key issues in the case. The first is whether the Copyright Board’s Post-Secondary Tariff is mandatory in its application to institutions, and the second is whether conforming with York University’s Fair Dealing Guidelines constitutes fair dealing under the Copyright Act.

April 30, 2020

Adrian Sheppard

News

Federal Court of Appeal Overturns York University Copyright Decision

Federal Court of Appeal Deals Access Copyright Huge Blow as it Overturns York Copyright Decision (Geist)

April 27, 2020

News

Reminder - Copyright Review of Course Materials - Spring and Summer 2020

All course instructors whose course materials for Spring and Summer 2020 are subject to copyright review (as outlined below) are reminded to submit a Copyright Review Request Form for those readings and related materials for each such course to copyright@ualberta.ca as soon as possible...

April 7, 2020

News

Copyright and COVID-19: The Role of Fair Dealing

The current COVID-19 crisis has created challenges for post-secondary institutions across the country and around the world in their efforts to continue to meet the needs of their students while observing the constraints of social distancing....

March 25, 2020

News

Copyright Office and COVID-19

Although Copyright Office staff will largely be working remotely during this period, please continue to send your copyright queries to copyright@ualberta.ca.

March 17, 2020

News

Fair Dealing Symposium 2020 - Registration Open!

As part of Fair Dealing Week 2020, the University of Alberta Copyright Office will be presenting a one-day symposium on Wednesday, February 26, 2020. Registration for this FREE event is now open...

January 16, 2020

News

Public Domain Day 2020

In Canada, January 1st of each year is the day that new works enter the public domain after their term of copyright protection has expired...

January 1, 2020

News

Reminder - Fair Dealing Symposium 2020- 26 February

This is a reminder that University of Alberta's Annual Fair Dealing Symposium will be held on Wednesday, February 26th, 2020.

December 20, 2019

Business

Copyright Workshop - Understanding Publisher Agreements

In this workshop, we will examine agreements from different publishers and discuss factors to consider before signing...

December 4, 2019

News

Fair Dealing Symposium 2020 - Save the Date and Call for Proposals

Save the date for the University of Alberta's Fair Dealing Symposium 2020, on February 26. The Call for Proposals is available now. Proposals should be submitted no later than November 29....

October 22, 2019

News

Copyright Review of Course Materials - Winter 2020

Course Instructors are reminded to submit their Winter 2020 Course Materials for copyright review as soon as possible....

October 22, 2019

News

Copyright Workshop - Understanding Publisher Agreements - July 30 and 31

In this workshop, we will examine agreements from different publishers and discuss factors to consider before signing...

July 3, 2019

News

Copyright Review of Course Materials - Fall 2019

Course Instructors are reminded to submit their Fall 2019 Course Materials for copyright review as soon as possible....

June 24, 2019

News

The Quad - Highlights from the Report on the Copyright Act Review

On Monday, June 3, 2019, the federal government's Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology (INDU) released its report on the Statutory Review of the Copyright Act. ... The final report, which makes 36 recommendations, is detailed, thorough, and balanced, and it generally demonstrates a good grasp of the issues and the differing points of view on how best to approach those issues. In this post, I will touch upon only about half of those 36 recommendations....

June 20, 2019

Adrian Sheppard

News

Fair Dealing Symposium 2019 - Presentations

The presentation slides from the University of Alberta Copyright Office's Fair Dealing Symposium 2019 are now available on ERA....

March 19, 2019

News

Copyright Review of Course Materials - Spring-Summer 2019

Course Instructors are reminded to submit their Spring/Summer 2019 Course Materials for copyright review as soon as possible....

March 19, 2019

News

The Quad - A Look at Educational Fair Dealing

Through most of 2018, the federal Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology (INDU) was engaged in its statutory review of the Copyright Act. One of the prominent issues in that review was fair dealing for the purpose of education. A number of groups have been lobbying for the removal of "education" as one of the purposes under fair dealing....

February 27, 2019

Adrian Sheppard

News

The Quad - Controlled Digital Lending

...The target of all this extreme rhetoric is the Internet Archive's Open Library and its use of Controlled Digital Lending. The concerns raised are of particular interest to the University of Alberta, where the University of Alberta Libraries has recently made its previously non-circulating Wiedrick collection accessible via Controlled Digital Lending through the Internet Archive....

February 6, 2019

Adrian Sheppard

News

The Quad - Thinking about the Public Domain

To properly recognize and appreciate the value of the public domain, we must acknowledge the importance of protecting not only what is already part of the public domain today, but also protecting the works that are currently still under copyright and that will become part of the public domain in the future....

January 10, 2019

Adrian Sheppard

News

Fair Dealing Symposium 2019 - Registration Open!

As part of Fair Dealing Week 2019, the University of Alberta Copyright Office will be presenting a one-day symposium on Wednesday, February 27, 2019. Registration for this FREE event is now open.

December 7, 2018

News

Copyright Workshop - Understanding Publisher Agreements - December 12 and 13

In this workshop, we will examine agreements from different publishers and discuss factors to consider before signing...

November 27, 2018

News

University of Alberta submission on the statutory review of the Copyright Act

On November 14, the University of Alberta submitted its brief on the Statutory Review of the Copyright Act. A link to the full text of the U of A submission, which was published to the INDU Committee website on November 20, is included....

November 21, 2018

Adrian Sheppard

News

Copyright Review of Course Materials - Winter 2019

Course Instructors are reminded to submit their Winter 2019 Course Materials for copyright review as soon as possible....

October 23, 2018

News

Open Access Week 2018

Please see the link for some information about Open Access Week 2018!

October 22, 2018

News

The Quad - Helping Students Understand Copyright and Plagiarism

There is some overlap between copyright infringement and plagiarism, and this overlap can lead to confusion for students. While there are a number of similarities between the two, there are important differences as well. Understanding the similarities and differences between them may help you to avoid both of them.

September 12, 2018

Adrian Sheppard

News

Course Instructors are reminded to submit their Fall 2018 Course Materials for copyright review as soon as possible....

June 19, 2018

News

The Quad - Collective Licences and Mandatory Tariffs

At the INDU Committee hearings for the statutory review of the Copyright Act, some authors' and publishers' groups have expressed concerns about the impact of the use of fair dealing by educational institutions. These groups have routinely suggested that a return by educational institutions to collective licences through Access Copyright would be a good approach to resolving many of their concerns.

June 12, 2018

Adrian Sheppard

News

Copyright Workshops - Understanding Publisher Agreements - June 12 and 14

In this workshop, we will examine agreements from different publishers and discuss factors to consider before signing...

May 24, 2018

News

The Quad - Statutory Review of the Copyright Act: How to Make sure Your Voice is Heard

The statutory review of the Copyright Act is now underway. The outcome of this review could have a significant impact on post-secondary institutions, so it is important to ensure that a broad range of voices from this sector make their views heard during the consultations....

April 26, 2018

Adrian Sheppard

News

World Book and Copyright Day

World Book and Copyright Day is a celebration to promote the enjoyment of books and reading. Each year, on 23 April, celebrations take place all over the world to recognize the magical power of books - a link between the past and the future, a bridge between generations and across cultures...

April 23, 2018

News

Copyright Review of Course Materials - Spring and Summer 2018

Course Instructors are reminded to submit their Spring/Summer 2018 Course Materials for copyright review as soon as possible....

March 12, 2018

News

The Quad - Consider This: Fair Dealing Under Review

Copyright law must maintain a balance between the interests of the creators to control and benefit economically from their works and the interests of users to benefit from accessing and using those works. Getting this balance right can be tricky, and the element that is critical to maintaining this balance is fair dealing....

February 21, 2018

Adrian Sheppard

News

The Quad - Sharing Course Notes and Study Materials Online

The internet offers unparalleled opportunities for us to share content we have created ourselves and to gain access to the content others have created and shared. However, before uploading any materials to sites like Course Hero and OneClass, it is important for students to read their terms of use, particularly regarding copyright....

January 24, 2018

Adrian Sheppard

News

Fair Dealing Week 2018 - Events

The Copyright Office of the University of Alberta is celebrating Fair Dealing Week 2018 by hosting four events on Wednesday, February 28. All events will be in held in the Wild Rose Room at the Lister Centre. Please register to attend any or all of these free events.

January 10, 2018

News

The Quad - Happy Public Domain Day

In the world of Canadian copyright, January 1st of each year is "public domain day," marking the annual addition of works into Canada's public domain....

December 13, 2017

Adrian Sheppard

News

Canadian Public Domain Flowchart

The Copyright Office has posted an updated Canadian Public Domain Flowchart....

December 5, 2017

News

The Quad - Copyright and Education

Instructors at educational institutions often display copyright-protected materials in classes or distribute excerpts from such materials to students. Copyright law tries to promote the broader public good by balancing the economic interests of creators in benefiting from their works with the interests of users to access, draw from, and build on those works. To that end, the Copyright Act gives specific recognition to the use of copyright-protected materials for education....

November 20, 2017

Adrian Sheppard

News

Course Instructors are reminded to submit their Winter 2018 Course Materials for copyright review as soon as possible....

October 26, 2017

News

Open Access Week 2017

Please see the link for some information on Open Access Week 2017!

October 20, 2017

News

New copyright information posters for university-operated copiers

The Copyright Office has developed and is currently distributing two new information posters to be posted alongside university-operated copiers, printers and scanners....

September 8, 2017

News

Fair Dealing Myths and Facts

The Canadian Association of Research Libraries has released its Fair Dealing Myths and Facts information sheet, which should be a useful tool for universities this fall...

September 7, 2017

News

The Quad - Reforming the Copyright Board

August 23, 2017

Adrian Sheppard

News

New Professor Teaching Orientation - Copyright Information

The Centre for Teaching and Learning is offering a New Professor Teaching Orientation on Wednesday, August 9, 2017. In conjunction with this orientation, the Copyright Office has prepared a brief introduction to copyright issues and resources for new faculty....

August 2, 2017

News

The Quad - Access Copyright v York

July 20, 2017

Adrian Sheppard

News

Course Instructors are reminded to submit their Fall 2017 Course Materials for copyright review as soon as possible....

July 10, 2017

News

The Quad - Creative Commons 101

July 5, 2017

Adrian Sheppard

News

Course Instructors are reminded to submit their Summer 2017 Course Materials for copyright review as soon as possible....

June 2, 2017

News

The Quad - Copyright and Academic Publishing

May 18, 2017

Adrian Sheppard

News

World Book and Copyright Day - 23 April

23 April is a symbolic date in world literature. UNESCO created World Book and Copyright Day to pay a world-wide tribute to books and authors on this date...

April 20, 2017

News

Copyright Workshops - Understanding Publisher Agreements - June 13 and 14

In this workshop, we will examine agreements from different publishers and discuss factors to consider before signing...

April 4, 2017

News

The Quad - Recorded Music at Public Events

March 27, 2017

Adrian Sheppard

News

Open Education Week 2017

In support of the global Open Education Week 2017 (March 27-31) a one hour panel discussion will be hosted at the University of Alberta (Thursday, March 30, 12:30-1:30pm)....

March 13, 2017

Arts Town Crier

News

Copyright Review of Course Materials - Spring-Summer 2017

Course Instructors are reminded to submit their Spring/Summer 2017 Course Materials for copyright review as soon as possible....

March 10, 2017