Title: Photocopying in the Library

*Updated: August 2024
Learning Objectives:

- Understand the responsibilities of librarians and libraries when providing copying services and self-service copiers
- Demonstrate an understanding of the balance between rights holders and users of copyright-protected materials in a library setting
- Understand the role of Fair Dealing Guidelines and Copyright Notices in a library setting
- Recognize circumstances where a library user should consider conducting a fair dealing analysis

Related OUC Modules
There are other OUC modules with content that relates directly to photocopying in the library. These modules are:

- CCH Canadian Ltd. v. Law Society of Upper Canada
- Copyright Act, Section 29: Fair Dealing
- Applying Fair Dealing

What is a library?
The Copyright Act defines a library as a non-profit institution that maintains a collection of documents or other materials and is open to the public or to researchers (s. 2).

Copyright anxiety alert!
This bunny is confused about what is considered fair dealing and is experiencing copyright anxiety! Copyright anxiety can lead to copyright chill, which is when a fear of litigation prevents them from exercising their legal rights. A better understanding of fair dealing can help them make decisions with confidence.

For more information, see Widespread copyright anxiety, leading to copyright chill, means something is deeply wrong.

What about the 10% rule?
You may have heard of the 10% rule, which is often referred to as a legally safe amount of a work to copy under fair dealing. However, this type of "bright line" rule is not found in copyright legislation. Instead, fair dealing is determined by a balancing test, not a bright line test. For example, in some cases copying less than 10% might not be fair and in other cases copying an entire work might be fair.

What are institutional guidelines?
Institutional copying guidelines inform employees about the extent of copying that will be supported by their employer. Library users are responsible for understanding how copyright law might apply to their copying (and thus not normally bound by institutional guidelines).

Choose the correct statement.

Credits: Photocopying in the Library; by University of Alberta; 2019; licence CC BY 4.0