Title: Creating and Sharing Copyright-Protected Materials in the K-12 Context

*Updated: July 2024
Learning Objectives:

- Identify what copyright protections apply to student works created in the K-12 educational context
- Recognize that various licences, royalties, and creator permissions, in addition to Canadian copyright rules, may impact student theatrical and musical performances
- Understand how students can create new works from copyright-protected works

What is an "educational purpose"?
Although the Copyright Act does not define “educational purposes,” CMEC describes it as “an activity that is planned and where the objective is for students to meet one or more subject or program outcomes” (Noel and Snel, 2022, p. 12).

What does SOCAN stand for?
SOCAN stands for Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada

What contextual factors are considered?
Factors considered include:

- if the music use is during school hours;
- if the use is on school grounds;
- if students are graded on the activity that involves the use;
- if the use is related to a demonstration for teachers, students or parents;
- if the use is for an educational purpose;
- if admission is free; and,
- if the use is for a non-profit purpose.

If the answer to most is yes, the performance is likely permitted. See Copyright Matters! for more details.

Can I make multiple "short excerpts" from the same work?
It should also be noted that “copying or communicating multiple short excerpts from the same copyright-protected work with the intention of copying or communicating substantially the entire work is prohibited” (Noel and Snel, 2022, p. 3) under fair dealing guidelines.

Spotting unauthorized copies
It can be hard to tell whether a copy of a work online is authorized or not. A few considerations include:

- The website address – if the copy is found on someone's personal website, it may be unauthorized.
- The quality of the copy – if the copy appears to have been photocopied or reproduced in an non-professional manner, it may be unauthorized.
- The lack of copyright information – most rights holders will communicate how they want their works used. If there is no information at all, it may be an unauthorized copy.
- Lack of contact information – if there is no contact information or 'About' the website creator information, it may be unauthorized.

"Non-commercial user-generated content" – what's that?
The non-commercial user-generated content exception permits anyone to use copyright-protected works to create new works, as long as they’re used for non-commercial purposes, they mention the original source, which has been acquired legally, and the user-generated content does not have a “substantial adverse effect” on the market for the original work. This users’ right is found in s. 29.21 of the Copyright Act.

Q: Any original work created by a student enjoys copyright protection.
A: true

Question 2

Q: A student can integrate a copy-protected work into their own creation, but only if the school has obtained explicit permission from the owner to use the work for this purpose.
A: false

Question3

Q: A teacher can use a digital copy of a play that they have found online if they obtain permission from their principal.
A: false

Question 4

Q: Alex, a drama teacher, arranges with the video arts teacher to record the school’s one-act play festival. In subsequent years, the drama teacher may show excerpts of the recording in their classes.
A: true

Question5

Q: There are various licences and royalty payments from collective licensing agencies, in addition to Canadian copyright rules, that may impact student theatrical and musical performances. Which of the following is a Canadian collective licensing agency?
- SOCAN (correct)
- CMEC
- NOCanDO
- None of these options are a collective licensing agency

Question6

Q: If a theatrical play is performed during school hours before an audience of other students and teachers, the drama teacher would NOT need to seek permission to make copies of a copyright-protected script.
A: false

Question7

Q: If a theatrical play is to be performed during school hours before an audience of other students and teachers, the drama teacher would NOT need to seek permission to allow her students to perform a copyright-protected script.
A: true

Choose the correct statement.

Credits: Creating and Sharing Copyright-Protected Materials in the K-12 Context; by University of Alberta; 2021; licence CC BY 4.0