Copyright Essentials for Educators was developed by ERAC with support from Open School BC. The course clarifies what BC schools are legally allowed to do under the Canadian Copyright Act and specially negotiated agreements with copyright holders. One of the 8 modules of the course covers copyright issues related to the use of online databases and other digital resources for which ERAC has negotiated agreements for K-12 schools in BC.

ERAC created the course by working with an advisory group comprised of regional BC educators. Nine additional school district staff joined with the advisory group to form the pilot committee which reviewed each section of the course and provided feedback on its content and usability. The course has been reviewed by a copyright lawyer with the BC Government and is based on the latest legislation.

After completing the Copyright Education course, you will be able to:

• Define copyright and explain who owns it, what it protects and for how long.
• Define moral rights and explain: who owns moral rights, what these rights protect and for how long, and how and when those rights can be waived.
• Define infringement and explain: how copyright and moral rights can be infringed, and what the penalties are for that infringement.
• Define fair dealing and explain how and when fair dealing occurs.
• Identify the educational exceptions under the Canadian Copyright Act.
• Explain what is allowed/not allowed in schools under the Ministry of Education's Access Copyright agreement
• Explain where to access/how legally to use a range of copyrighted material, including material available under licence agreements negotiated (or being negotiated) by schools, school districts and/or ERAC that allow schools to:
• play music—live or recorded— outside of class-time
• show educational videos and feature films, and
• o access educational databases, such as EBSCO, World Book and Encyclopedia of British Columbia, and use the information for various educational purposes.

Sample Case Study: Copycat At Work

A famous B.C. artist has donated a painting from her collection to Feline High for display in the cafeteria.

Copycat:

• photographed the painting
• made copies of the photograph for students and their parents
• stored a digital image of the painting on his home computer
• had a graphic designer modify the image to use on the school's stationery

Vera Keen says Copycat infringed the artist's copyright—and possibly her moral rights-unless the artist specifically gave the school permission to reproduce her work. Copycat says permission doesn't matter: the painting was a gift to the school so the school must now automatically hold the copyright.