What is fair dealing as defined in Canadian copyright law?
The Copyright Act (section 29) states that “fair dealing for the purpose of research or private study does not infringe copyright.” Use of material for the purposes of criticism review and news reporting is fair when properly attributed to the copyright owner or source. In addition, according to a Supreme Court of Canada, even commercial use of material can be considered fair under certain circumstances. Some copyrighted information used for private research or study, criticism or review and for news reporting is acceptable. However, fair dealing does not prevent copyright owners from taking legal action against users but gives protection where “fair dealing” can be demonstrated.
