The Fair Dealing Exception Explained: A 20 Year Retrospective

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17161/jcel.v9i1.23096

Abstract

This paper is intended for library practitioners and information professionals, presenting a deep dive into the Canadian case law that relates to fair dealing, a user’s right, with a particular focus on CCH and subsequent cases from 2004 to 2024. Readers will learn the importance of fair dealing, discovering how decisions from the courts can be used to help users of copyrighted works conduct fair dealing analyses by considering the six fair dealing factors prescribed by the Supreme Court of Canada in CCH. This “paper” does not follow a typical structure expected of a research paper, and is not meant to be read as a complete work. Rather, the summaries and excerpts provided below are to be used as references for those researching fair dealing or conducting fair dealing analyses. The genesis of the 2024 ABC Copyright Conference presentation, available in the ABC 2024 collection and copies of all cases referenced in both our presentation and this paper are available in an open reading list.

References

1395804 Ontario Ltd. (Blacklock’s Reporter) v. Canada (Attorney General), 2024 FC 829 (CanLII). https://canlii.ca/t/k4zfr

Alberta v. Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright), 2024 FC 292 (CanLII). https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/fct/doc/2024/2024fc292/2024fc292.html

Alberta (Education) v. Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright), 2012 SCC 37 (CanLII), [2012] 2 SCR 345 (Can.). https://canlii.ca/t/fs0v5

Amani, B., & Swartz, M. (2017, May 18–19). Cultivating copyright custodians for the digital age: Law, libraries, & the public interest in lending (obsolete formats) [Conference presentation abstract]. Copyright User Rights and Access to Justice Symposium, Windsor, Ontario, Canada. http://www.uwindsor.ca/law/754/conference-copyright-user-rights

Brunet, M., & Wakaruk, A. (2019, October). An exercise in contradiction? The role of academic copyright librarians. In S. R. Benson (Ed.), Copyright conversations: Rights literacy in a digital world (pp. 61–83). ACRL / American Library Association. https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-3p3b-h251

CCH Canadian Ltd. v. Law Society of Upper Canada, 2004 SCC 13, [2004] 1 SCR 339 (Can.). https://canlii.ca/t/1glp0

Copyright Act, R.S.C. 1985, c C-42 (1985). https://canlii.ca/t/7vdz

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Owen, V. (2011). Who Safeguards the Public Interest in Copyright in Canada Part I: Articles. Journal of the Copyright Society of the USA, 59(4), 803-842.

Owen, V. (2022). With respect to rights – In the public interest. In J. Coates, V. Owen, & S. Reilly (Eds.), Navigating copyright for libraries: Purpose and scope (pp. 59–76). De Gruyter Saur. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110732009-005

Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada v. Bell Canada, 2012 SCC 36, [2012] 2 SCR 326 (Can.). https://canlii.ca/t/fs0vf

Tawfik, M. J. (2013). The Supreme Court of Canada and the “fair dealing trilogy”: Elaborating a doctrine of user rights under Canadian copyright law. Alberta Law Review, 51(1), 191–200. https://doi.org/10.29173/alr64

Théberge v. Galerie d’Art du Petit Champlain inc., 2 SCR 336 (Supreme Court of Canada 2002). https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/2002/2002scc34/2002scc34.html

United Airlines, Inc. v. Cooperstock, 2017 FC 616, 1 FCR 188 (Can.). https://canlii.ca/t/h4jzk

Wakaruk, A., Gareau-Brennan, C., & Pietrosanu, M. (2021). Introducing the copyright anxiety scale. Journal of Copyright in Education & Librarianship, 5(1), 1–38. https://doi.org/10.17161/jcel.v5i1.15212

Wiseau Studio, LLC et al. v. Harper et al., 2020 ONSC 2504 (can.). https://canlii.ca/t/j6w8w

York University v. Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright), 2021 SCC 32, 2 SCR 734 (Can.). https://canlii.ca/t/jh8bc

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Published

2025-10-15

Issue

Section

Special Issue - ABC Copyright Conference Proceedings

How to Cite

Shannon, M. ., & Swartz, M. (2025). The Fair Dealing Exception Explained: A 20 Year Retrospective. Journal of Copyright in Education & Librarianship, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.17161/jcel.v9i1.23096