Navigating Copyright for Crown-Published Works: A Code of Best Practices for Libraries

July 9, 2024

Hello,

We are pleased to share that the document Navigating Copyright for Crown-Published Works: A Code of Best Practices for Libraries is now available on both the CARL and CFLA websites, alongside a short Summary document.

This Crown copyright code was developed for libraries by a community-based writing team working with federal government employees and legal and peer reviewers. It provides a legal and practical exploration of fair dealing in the context of library stewardship activities for government publications in Canada.

While the Code is not legal advice, it provides a legally defensible model for the application of the fair dealing exception when copying, preserving, and sharing government publications. It details the relevant sections of the Canadian Copyright Act and caselaw and provides case studies that describe related projects undertaken by academic libraries. We hope that your institutions and organizations will utilize this resource and we encourage you to share it with colleagues who may not be on this list-serv.

For more information, feel free to contact me directly and/or consult the slides presented on June 20 at ABC Copyright 2024.

Amanda Wakaruk, on behalf of the writing team

Graeme Campbell (Queen’s University)
Steve Marks (University of Toronto)
Brianne Selman (University of Winnipeg)
Graeme Slaght (University of Toronto)
Rob Tiessen (University of Calgary)
Jennifer Zerkee (Simon Fraser University)