Research Guides: Faculty Help: Copyright: Canvas & Copyright

What can I post on Canvas?

Posting an item to Canvas does not exempt an instructor from copyright regulations. Therefore, instructors are encouraged to follow copyright "best practices" as outlined in the Copyright Clearance Center’s publication, Using Course Management Systems.

Note that the guidelines suggested below are based on one interpretation of U.S. Copyright Law. If in doubt, it is always advisable to err on the side of caution and speak with legal counsel.

Item	Allowed	Not Allowed
Website containing copyrighted material	Link to the website via the LMS	Copying and pasting the information into the LMS
Copyrighted web image	Must be educational in nature; display in the LMS for one semester	Repeated use over multiple semesters
Article from a library database	Direct linking to article allowed	Copying and pasting the article into the LMS
Article, book, book chapter, or DVD obtained through interlibrary loan or otherwise borrowed from another library	Permission must be obtained	Permission denied or not obtained
Scanned copyrighted image	Must be educational in nature; display in the LMS for one semester	Repeated use over multiple semesters
Scanned chapter from a book	5% of the total work if in-print; 10% of the total work if out-of-print; allowed for one semester	More than the allotted percentages or repeated use over multiple semesters
Scanned article from a journal, trade publication, or magazine	A single article for one semester	Multiple articles from the same publication or repeated use over multiple semesters
Audio files	No more than thirty seconds without permission	Repeated use over multiple semesters
Video files	10% or three minutes, whichever is less	Repeated use over multiple semesters

Created by Dan Nolting, Chatham University. Reused with permission.

Canvas Best Practices

Whenever possible, link to content available outside Canvas
- Use permanent links instead of pdfs
- If you can't find a link to the content, contact the SFCC library to see if we have a subscription and ask for help
Teach students to use research tools to find articles & books by their citations:
- Find Articles (in the SFCC Library)
- Google Scholar
When all else fails, limit what you upload to Canvas, after checking Fair Use and TEACH Act guidelines
- One article from a periodical, per course
- One chapter from a book
- Only upload content that's closely related to course objectives
- Provide original creator and copyright holder citation
- Include a Do Not Reproduce warning with all content
Avoid uploading videos or music
- Whenever possible, link to streaming sources like Films On Demand, Feature Films for Education, or YouTube
Use alternative OER content, licensed under Creative Commons
Avoid making paper copies

This guide is educational; it's not legal advice.

Using Copyrighted Materials
LSU's huge guide on this topic. Bigger than this guide, and purple.

Get Copyright Permissions

Copyright Clearance Center Permissions Tool
Search for a publication and purchase reproductions rights
Sample Permission Request Letter
This is an excellent sample letter from Columbia University.

SFCC's Policy

As a non-profit educational institution, SFCC qualifies as an institution that may follow fair-use. The institution's policy states: "SFCC employees and students who wish to use copyrighted materials in their academic endeavors will be responsible for obtaining permission from copyright owners for all use that does not fall under fair use guidelines as outlined by the U.S. Copyright Office."