Last Updated: Nov 14, 2017     Views: 200

Fair dealing in an exception under the Copyright Act that allows you to use copyright material for the purpose of research, private study, criticism, review, education, parody and satire and news reporting provided that what you do with the work is fair. The Supreme Court has provided a ruling that states that one must consider the following factors:

  • The purpose of the dealing (research, private study, criticism, review, education, parody, satire and news reporting)
  • The amount of the dealing (whole work versus table or quote)
  • The character of the dealing (single copies more fair than multiples)
  • Alternatives to the dealing (Links or licenses available)
  • Nature of the work (limits how much to use through institutional policy)
  • The effect of the dealing on the original work (loss of $$$, reputation)

FAIR DEALING should not be confused with the doctrine of FAIR USE that is available in the United States. Fair use provides more educational exceptions than does the Fair Dealing clause (Section 29) in the Canadian Copyright Act. The Copyright Act does not provide a specific amount of work that can be considered to be fair dealing. One must apply the factors as above.

Fair Dealing Checklist