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Glossary
- All definitions are written for clarity, not legal precision.
- Terms appear in bold throughout site pages where definitions apply.
- For detailed interpretation of the Copyright Act, contact copyright@uwo.ca.
Terms and Definitions
Attribution
Acknowledging the original creator of a work when it is reused or quoted. Required under most licenses and good scholarly practice.
Author / Creator
The individual who first creates and fixes a work in a tangible form. The legal owner of copyright unless rights have been transferred.
Collective Society
An organization authorized to manage copyright on behalf of creators (e.g., Access Copyright, SOCAN).
Copyright
The exclusive legal right to reproduce, perform, publish, or communicate a work to the public. It protects the expression of ideas, not the ideas themselves.
Creative Commons (CC)
A set of standardized licenses that allow creators to specify how others may use their work (e.g., with attribution, non-commercially, or without modification).
Derivative Work
A new work based on or adapted from an existing one (e.g., translation, remix, or edited compilation). Creating a derivative usually requires permission unless an exception applies.
Embargo
A delay period during which access to a thesis or publication is restricted, usually to allow for pending publication, patent, or confidentiality.
Exception
A provision in the Copyright Act that allows use of a work without the owner’s permission for specific purposes (e.g., education, research, library services).
Fair Dealing
A user right and Exception in the Copyright Act allowing limited copying or use of works for certain purposes: research, private study, education, criticism, review, or news reporting.
Infringement
Using a work in a way that violates the owner’s rights under copyright law (e.g., copying or distributing without permission or legal exception).
License
A contractual agreement that grants permission to use copyrighted material under specified conditions. Western Libraries negotiates licenses for most digital resources.
Moral Rights
Rights retained by the creator to be credited for their work and to object to uses that distort or harm the work’s integrity. Moral rights cannot be transferred but can be waived.
Open Access (OA)
A publishing model that makes scholarly works freely available online without paywalls. OA works often carry explicit reuse licenses.
Open License
A license (such as Creative Commons) that allows free use of a work subject to stated conditions like attribution or share-alike.
Permission
Written authorization from the copyright owner to use a work in a specific way. Permission should always be documented and retained.
Public Domain
Works no longer protected by copyright, or those not eligible for copyright. These may be used freely, though attribution is still recommended.
Reproduction
The act of making a copy of a work, whether physical or digital. This includes scanning, downloading, or embedding.
Statutory Term
The period during which copyright protection lasts. In Canada, this is generally the life of the author plus 70 years.
Work
Any original expression of ideas in literary, artistic, musical, or dramatic form. Examples include text, images, sound recordings, films, and broadcasts.