There are many pedagogical and technical issues that make online teaching challenging, but for once, copyright is generally not a major concern to worry about.

This page is a resource for any concerns University of Toronto instructors may have about the use of copyright-protected works in their online/remote instruction in activities such as the recording and posting of videos, the live-casting of lectures, and the incorporation of audio-visual materials into their teaching.

Some important things to keep in mind:

Most of the legal issues are the same in both the in-person, online and hybrid instruction contexts.
If it was lawful to do in class, it is often lawful to do online – especially when your online access is limited to enrolled students.
You can continue to apply the University of Toronto Fair Dealing Guidelines in the online context.

Slide images

If it is lawful to show slide images in class, it is likely lawful to show the same images to students via live video conferencing or in recorded videos uploaded to Quercus. This may be a surprise if you have heard that there is a big difference between class lecture slides and online conference slides - but the issue is usually less offline versus online, than it is between a restricted (non-public) audience versus an unrestricted (public) audience. As long as your new course video is being shared through course websites (like Quercus) limited to enrolled students where access is provided for instructional purposes, the legal issues with including images or other third-party materials in slides are fairly similar between the online and in-person classroom modalities.

Many instructors routinely post a copy of their slides as a file for students to access before or after in-person course meetings. In most cases, faculty will own the copyright in or have license to use their slides. However, if you are incorporating third-party materials into your lessons, they should be in keeping with the University of Toronto Fair Dealing Guidelines, or other exceptions to copyright, or other license agreements.

In-lecture use of audio or video

Here, the differences between online and in-person teaching can be a bit more complex. Playing audio or video using lawfully-obtained physical media during an in-person class session is 100% legal at the University of Toronto under Section 29.5 of the Copyright Act. See "Performances by or for Students" on page 6 of the University of Toronto's Copyright Basics and FAQs.

However, that exemption doesn't necessarily cover playing the same media online, especially if enabling the playback of the audio or video requires making a copy of the media and/or the evading of a technical protection measure to so do, or, in the case of streaming media, if streaming the content conflicts with the terms of a contract or license that governs the use of a particular audiovisual work on a certain platform. Most commercial, consumer-facing streaming platforms restrict their content to personal uses only, which would not cover the streaming of content to a class or other group.

Where to post your videos

There may be some practical differences in outcomes depending on where you post new course videos. The University's MyMedia service provides storage and streaming of videos and can be restricted to the University of Toronto community. You can also post your lecture videos to Quercus. You also can post video to other streaming services (such as Youtube), and the same basic legal provisions discussed above would apply. Making your video openly available to an unrestricted audience might change what materials you should consider including in your lesson. Additionally, it is more likely that videos posted on YouTube may encounter some automated copyright enforcement, such as a takedown notice or automatic removal, or the disabling of included audio or video content. These automated enforcement tools are often incorrect when they flag audio, video, or images included in instructional videos. if you encounter something like this that you believe to be in error, you can contact copyright@library.utoronto.ca for assistance.

Sharing or linking to course readings

As always, the course reserves and Syllabus Services across UofT’s three campuses can help with getting things online – by linking to library resources, finding ebooks where available, and by facilitating the scanning and provision of excerpts from books.

If you want to share additional materials with students yourself, or if you want students to share more resources with each other in an online discussion board, keep in mind some simple guidelines:

It is always ok to link

Linking to publicly available online content like news websites, existing online videos, etc., is rarely a copyright issue (with the caveat that linking to obviously unauthorized content should be avoided).

Linking to subscription content through the Libraries is also a great option - consult the “How can I create a permanent link to an article?” FAQ, or contact the library directly for assistance via the Ask Chat service or by contacting your Liaison Librarians.

Sharing copies of course materials

Making copies of new materials for students (by downloading and uploading files, or by scanning from physical documents) can present some copyright issues, but they're not different from those involved in deciding whether to share something online with your students when you are meeting in-person. It's better not to make copies of entire works - but most instructors don't do that! Copying portions of works to share with students may be fair dealing, depending on the six fair dealing factors.

At the University of Toronto, faculty and instructors are encouraged to read and apply the University of Toronto’s Fair Dealing Guidelines when they are making their own decisions about when they think they can make copies for students. Faculty can also consult the Copyright Basics & FAQ and the Copyright Roadmap for further guidance. The Library has published a Copyright Roadmap Learning Module. Library staff members are available to help faculty understand the relevant issues (contact copyright@library.utoronto.ca).

Library staff can assist faculty in making copyright determinations and can also help you seek formal copyright permissions to provide copies to students – but there may be some issues with getting permissions on short timelines. Get in touch with the University of Toronto's course readings and reserves services for assistance with copyright and your reading list.

Use phone apps like Genius Scan or Adobe Scan to easily scan to post print materials to Quercus in keeping with the University of Toronto Fair Dealing Guidelines. Make scanned PDF files more accessible for your students by using an optical character recognition (OCR) online tool to convert "non-selectable" text files into more accessible versions.

Multimedia viewing and listening

Showing an entire movie or film or musical work online may be a bit more of an issue than playing it in class - but there may be options for your students to access it independently online. The Libraries have licensed online video resources, which you are welcome to use in your online course.

We may be able to purchase or license streaming access for additional media, but standard consumer-facing commercial streaming options like Netflix, Amazon, Crave, and Disney+ may sometimes be the easiest option. (For exclusive content, the commercial services may be the only option.)

Ownership of online course resources

The University of Toronto’s Copyright Policy affirms that faculty members and faculty-like employees own the copyright in their academic works, including instructional content. Some units and departments have varying policies around ownership of course video at the unit level, but you would likely already be aware of that if it is applicable. Some units may also have some shared expectations of shared -access- to course video for continuity of educational experiences, without those expectations affecting the ownership of the materials.

University policies also affirm that students own the copyright in their own coursework. Instructors can require them to submit it in particular formats, but the students continue to own their works unless a separate agreement is signed by the student.

This resource is adapted for the University of Toronto from material prepared by the Copyright Office, University of Minnesota document Copyright Services, Rapidly shifting your course from in-person to online. All content on this page is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License. We would also like to acknowledge some contribution of adaptation language from Toronto Metropolitan University Library.

Online Instruction: Copyright Considerations

Related to

Copyright Resources at U of T