Copyright: Moodle

Reusing Content

The rights of creators and users of copyright-protected works set out in the Canadian Copyright Act apply to works in all formats, including textual materials, images, and audio and video files made available in Moodle.

At the start of each new semester, Moodle prompts students and faculty to read and accept its Terms of Use, which are available at the bottom of each page.  Of particular relevance for faculty is the copyright term of use stating that:

Institutional and individually purchased license agreements generally limit use of digitally reproduced works to a single course offering in Moodle.  Before reusing a licensed work for a subsequent course, copyright permission must therefore be reverified or repurchased. 

Reverifying availability and usage terms of a licensed digital work (e.g., a PDF article from a Library subscribed database) is necessary, as the contents of the subscribed databases are typically in constant flux due to the addition of new material and removal of older material. Thus, a given work may no longer be available or usable today under the same terms applicable in a previous semester.  The Library’s Copyright Permissions Look-up tool can assist with article permissions reverification.

Please note that as of January 1, 2016, the University is no longer covered by an Access Copyright blanket license. This means that digital copies of Access Copyright repertoire works made under the University's license expiring December 31, 2015 must not be re-used without copyright owner permission. The license covers copying of repertoire works during the period January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2015. Titles considered by Access Copyright to be repertoire works can be searched using its Title Search and Permissions Tool.

If you plan to use a restored Moodle course that was created or last used between Spring 2011 and Fall 2015, please take the following steps to ensure permissions, when required, are obtained before reusing digital copies of copyrighted works made under the University's 2011-2015 Access Copyright licence:

1. Determine whether each copied item is a published work.
2. If published, determine whether the work is covered by fair dealing or a permission source other than Access Copyright allowing its use in Moodle. The following resources can help with this determination:
   • University of Lethbridge Guidelines for Copying under Fair dealing
   • University of Lethbridge Library Copyright Permissions Look-up
   • University Copyright Advisor office: copyright@uleth.ca or 403-332-4472.
3. For a published work not otherwise covered by fair dealing or a University of Lethbridge Library or open access licence, it is necessary to establish if the work is in Access Copyright's repertoire. The Access Copyright Title Search and Permissions Tool can help with this determination.
4. For works appearing to be within the Access Copyright repertoire that are not covered by fair dealing or an alternative permission source, from January 1, 2016 instructors will need to ensure copyright owner permission or a transactional licence is in place or be prepared to remove the works. Please contact the University Copyright Advisor office if you require assistance in seeking permissions or transactional licences.

It remains the case that permission to reproduce certain kinds of materials such as Ivey and Harvard business cases in digital (and print) format must be purchased from the copyright owner or agent for each new course offering. Business cases have never been covered under Access Copyright blanket licensing.

Reverification and repurchasing of permissions are not new requirements, as copyright permissions are always secured before the Bookstore produces coursepack orders and before copied materials are placed on Library Electronic or Print Reserve. To avoid having to reverify or repurchase copyright permissions for digital reproductions (e.g., PDF articles and chapters) you wish to post in Moodle, your options include:

• substituting persistent links for PDFs when available
• substituting sources for which the copyright owner has provided an open access or Creative Commons license permitting your desired use.

Please feel free to request permission reverification assistance from the University Copyright Advisor at any time.