Copyright 2021 and Use of Internet Resources
A new educational exception will permit schools and students of non-profit educational institutions to use resources from the Internet for educational purposes only, under certain conditions, including:
- the material must be free to access from the Internet;
- the user must cite the Internet source and the date when the material was accessed;
- the user must give a sufficient acknowledgement of the material (i.e. identify the author and the title/description of the work), to the extent that the necessary information is available from the source;
- the user can communicate the material only on a network of the educational institution that is accessible only to the students and staff of that institution,
- and the user must not know that the material is a copyright infringing work (e.g. a “pirated” copy of a movie) – if the user is notified that the material is infringing, the user must cease the use of the material and take reasonable steps to prevent any further access.
Materials are considered free to access if they are generally accessible using the Internet by the public free of charge at the time of access. Materials that will not qualify for this exception include those that are accessible only:
- for a limited period that cannot be renewed or extended (e.g. under a one-time trial subscription);
- under a paid subscription, whether or not the user was the person who paid for that subscription; or
- by circumventing an access control measure in circumstances that constitute copyright infringement.
More information may be found in the section on Permitted Use in the Copyright Act 2021, Subdivision 204, "Using material available on Internet for educational purposes"
