Fair Dealing Week is an annual event dedicated to raising awareness of the fair dealing exception in Canada’s Copyright Act. Particularly important in the context of education, the fair dealing exception helps to balance the rights of copyright owners with those of users of copyrighted works, by permitting fair uses for purposes such as research, private study, and education. Fair dealing enables access to vital educational resources, encourages creativity, facilitates scholarship, and supports research and innovation.
This year, Fair Dealing Week takes place from February 23 to 27, 2026, and will be marked by several events and information sessions across the country. Join in the celebrations by taking a few minutes to discover how fair dealing benefits you, whether you are a student, instructor, researcher, creator – or anyone who uses copyrighted works in their daily life.
What is fair dealing?
Making copies of substantial portions of copyrighted works and communicating them to others is subject to Canadian copyright law and generally requires the permission of the copyright owner. However, the Copyright Act contains exceptions which allow non-profit libraries, educational institutions, and individuals to make copies within reasonable limits, without requiring the consent of the copyright owner or the payment of royalties. These exceptions are regarded as users’ rights, and one of the most important user rights is known as fair dealing.
How does fair dealing apply to me?
Whether you are reproducing an image, figure, poem, video clip, or text excerpt in your assignment or essay, using a book chapter for teaching purposes, or just to help you study or do research, fair dealing can enable all of these uses. U of G has adopted the Fair Dealing Guidelines recently updated by Universities Canada, which provide guidance on how the fair dealing exception may apply when copying and sharing works in university settings. This guidance is also provided in copyright posters displayed at printing/copying/scanning equipment throughout the campus.
Why does fair dealing matter?
- Access to knowledge: Fair dealing allows students and researchers to use a variety of sources, which is essential for learning and advancing knowledge.
- Supports education: Instructors can use copyrighted materials in their lessons, making education more engaging and effective, adding to U of G’s distinctive student experience.
- Encourages creativity: Fair dealing supports the creation of new works by allowing the use of existing ones for purposes like research, education, parody, satire, criticism, review, and news reporting.
- Balances rights: It ensures that copyright law doesn't overly restrict the sharing of information and ideas, which is important for a dynamic society.
Ways to celebrate Fair Dealing Week
Join an online webinar! Here are some to check out:
- User Rights in the Age of Generative AI - Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at 1 p.m. This webinar is presented by the Canadian Association of Research Libraries.
- User Rights Then and Now - Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at 4 p.m. A Virtual Keynote featuring Professor David Vaver, a leading copyright expert and professor emeritus at Oxford University and Osgoode Hall Law School.
Explore fair dealing and copyright resources
- Visit the Fair Dealing Works website to learn more about fair dealing in Canada.
- Access U of G's copyright resources to find out what it means for your work, research, and studies at U of G:
- Learn how the Fair Dealing Guidelines can be applied for teaching and learning purposes.
- Evaluate whether your use of a work is fair dealing when using copyrighted works outside the classroom.
- Learn about copyright basics and how they apply to you, no matter your role at U of G.
Questions?
Contact us. We're here to help.
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.