Social Work Guide

Copyright & Fair Use

Concordia University Intellectual Property Policy

Fair Use Recommendations

• Fair Use FAQ for Professors (PDF): This guide explains when and if you can share a copyrighted material in your class or Canvas.
• Fair Use For Software Preservation (PDF): This guide explains when and if you can copy and save software programs for continued access to digital files when file conversion is not available.
• Fair Use and Course Reserves: Fact and Fiction:  Blog post from a Harvard University librarian
• Cornell University Copyright Information Center Guide: Comprehensive coverage of Fair use, a helpful checklist, as well as information about protecting your own work.

ACRL Fair Use Tool Kit: A variety of information about fair use including presentations, legal cases, and guides

Requesting Permission

If the resource you wish to use is protected under copyright, and you need more than what can be shared under fair use, then you must request permission.

• Determine the copyright owner. This could be the publisher, creator, or the employer (in work-for-hire). Tips for Determining the Owner
• Identify what permissions you need. Remember: the more you need, the larger the (potential) fee.
  • how many copies (the number of students)?
  • how much (paragraphs, pages, or chapters?)
  • how long (number of terms/semesters)?

• The Basics of Getting Permission (Stanford University Libraries)

• Contact the copyright holder in writing. Many publishers now accept permission requests via email or website online form.
  • Identify yourself and Concordia University
  • identify where and how you will use the work
  • Identify how much of the work you need to use