Re: Copyright Status of Press Releases

On Fri, 13 Aug 1999, Robert Cumbow <rcumbow[_at_]grahamdunn.com> wrote:
>
> On Aug 12, 1999, Nora Robinson <nora.robinson[_at_]igate6.is.sait.ab.ca> wrote:
> >
> > Is the copying of press releases for educational purposes an
> > infringement? For example, what if an instructor in a marketing or
> > a writing class distributes a set of photocopied press releases from
> > a variety of government, educational and commercial sources and
> > asks her students to critique them? Rewrite them to improve them?
> > Analyze their effectiveness?
>
> I would think this in-class use would be entirely permissible under US
> law ... but I have no idea what Canadian law might provide.

Assuming the press releases are subject to copyright protection...

Under Canadian law, I might argue that these uses would be permitted as a fair dealing under Section 29 or 29.1 of the Copyright Act ONLY IF the STUDENTS make the copies for themselves (or if the copies are made for the students by a library, archive, or museum; see s. 30.2 which I believe was proclaimed into force earlier this year):

Fair dealing for the purpose of criticism or review does not infringe copyright if the source and author are mentioned. Although this may be intended primarily to allow for "quoting" the original as part of the critique, I don't see why it would not extend to making one photocopy per critique. Problems have arisen, though, when a published critique contains the copied work in its entirety -- though this might be permissible if necessary for the critique (e.g. if the critiqued work is very short/small).

Fair dealing for the purpose of research does not infringe copyright. This is NOT restricted to private nor non-commercial uses (as opposed to, e.g., the "private study" provision). This provision might allow the students to copy the press releases to "analyze their effectiveness."

Note that even if the use IS permitted research or criticism, the use must ALSO constitute a "fair dealing". Case law defines numerous factors to be considered - these are similar to the factors considered in the US test for fair use.

When can the educational institution or instructor make copies for the students? If the work is "not commercially available in a medium that is appropriate ...," an educational institution or its agent may make a copy of the work to be used with an overhead projector or similar device, or may copy the work as required for a test or examination. Whether commercially available or not, a manual copy may be made on a dry-erase board, flip chart, or similar device for the purposes of education or training on the premises of an educational institution (see section 29.4).

THIS INFORMATION IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS LEGAL ADVICE - CONSULT A COMPETENT COPYRIGHT LAWYER FOR ADVICE. -C. D'Angelo
Vancouver BC
<cappyd[_at_]uvic.ca> Received on Sun Aug 15 1999 - 09:34:00 GMT