CMEC Launches On-Line Copyright Resource for Teachers
Toronto, October 12, 2016 – The Copyright Consortium of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC), has launched the Copyright Decision Tool, an on-line resource developed for teachers to assist with their understanding of copyright. The new Web site — www.copyrightdecisiontool.ca — helps teachers assess when they can use copyright-protected materials without getting copyright permission under the fair dealing provision of the Copyright Act.
The consortium is composed of the ministers of education of the provinces and territories, with the exception of Quebec.
“The Copyright Decision Tool is a wonderful addition to the consortium's ongoing efforts to encourage copyright awareness in the K-12 education sector,” said Karen Casey, Chair of the CMEC Copyright Consortium and Nova Scotia Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development. “Copyright is respected by teachers, school boards, and government ministries and departments across the country, and respect for copyright is taught in schools. As responsible stewards of copyright and education, we are pleased to provide this new Web site that raises teachers' awareness of their rights and responsibilities around the use of copyright‑protected works.”
Teachers and students today have greater opportunities for learning in the classroom as a result of a Supreme Court of Canada decision in 2012 which clarified what fair dealing means in the classroom. Fair dealing permits teachers to communicate or use “short excerpts” of copyright-protected works for students in their classes without seeking permission from the copyright owner or payment of copyright royalties. Since 2012, the education community in Canada has applied the Fair Dealing Guidelines which provides a description of “short excerpts” based on decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada.
“The current copyright law respecting educational fair dealing supports learning, fosters innovation, and drives knowledge creation by providing teachers and students with reasonable access to the content they need within their learning environment, ” said Minister Casey. “With the Copyright Decision Tool, teachers now have at their fingertips the information they need to assess if the short excerpt from a copyright-protected work they wish to use with the students in their classes is within fair dealing,”
The Copyright Decision Tool Web site can be found at: www.copyrightdecisiontool.ca.
About CMEC
Founded in 1967, CMEC is the collective voice of Canada's ministers of education. It provides leadership in education at the pan-Canadian and international levels and contributes to the exercise of the exclusive jurisdiction of provinces and territories over education. For more information, visit us at www.cmec.ca.
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Information
Colin Bailey
Director, Communications
Cell: 437-777-4879
Tel.: 416-962-8100, ext. 259
E-mail: c.bailey@cmec.ca
Twitter: @CCMEC