Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Copyright is a legal mechanism that grants economic and moral rights to authors of works while also granting rights to users of copyright-protected works. The use of copyright-protected works at Queen's University is informed by the Canadian Copyright Act, the Copyright Compliance and Administration Policy, and various license agreements that the university has entered into with copyright owners and representative organizations. 

When you want to use a particular work, it is best to assume that the work is protected by copyright, unless there is a clear indication to the contrary or the author of the work passed away more than 70 years ago. When determining whether your use of a copyright-protected work is permissible, it is best to confirm that you are in compliance with any existing license agreements and the Copyright Act: 

1. Is the work covered by a license agreement that Queen's University Library has in place with publishers or a Creative Commons license? If so, is your use of the work permitted in accordance with the license? 
2. If a license agreement is not in place, is your use of the work permitted by any of the educational exceptions in the Copyright Act or the Fair Dealing Requirements for Educational Copying (Appendix A of the Copyright Compliance and Administration Policy)? 

If the work is not covered by a license agreement and your use of the work is not within the scope of an educational exception from the Copyright Act or the Fair Dealing Requirements, you will need to obtain permission from the copyright owner. 

Copyright infringement occurs with a copyright-protected work is used outside of the scope of a license agreement, outside of the scope of exceptions from the Copyright Act, outside of the scope of Fair Dealing, or without permission from the copyright owner. 

Please contact the Copyright Advisory Office for assistance assessing whether a work is protected by copyright, whether a license is in place, whether an educational exception or Fair Dealing apply, and when obtaining permission from a copyright owner: qcopy@queensu.ca. 

For more information, please see our Overview of Copyright page.