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CLF for the Internet - Important Notices
Standard 5.2The following Copyright / Permission to Reproduce text must be included within the Important Notices link at the bottom of all GoC Web pages. RationaleInclusion of a plain language Copyright / Permission to Reproduce notice on the Important Notices hyperlink from all Web pages provides direct access to information regarding content ownership and the conditions associated with reproduction of materials posted on GoC Web sites. The Internet provides a tremendous vehicle for distributing an enormous range of information to Canadians, when and where they need it. One of the GoC's goals is to give Canadians information that is easily identified as having been created and/or distributed by the Government of Canada. Through the act of posting information on this medium, institutions are essentially indicating they want individuals to use, and to share, information found in this freely available format. The absence of a copyright notice does not mean that copyright does not exist; anyone wishing to reproduce materials from an institutional Web site is therefore going to require permission. Instead of responding to individual requisitions for permission, institutions should make extensive use of permission notices on their Web sites, i.e., a notice to the public indicating the terms and conditions on which the materials on the site may be reproduced without further permission from the author institution. In fact, a copyright notice without a permission notice leaves the user in the position of not being able to reproduce the materials without infringement of copyright (subject to the fair dealing exceptions for private study and research). In exceptional circumstances, institutions may wish to prohibit reproduction of some materials posted on their sites (i.e. priced publications that have been made available over the Internet). Such institutions should carefully examine their reasons for prohibiting the commercial redistribution of these materials. If the institution's primary interest is in facilitating the widest possible dissemination of its information, commercial redistribution should not be prohibited. Rather, commercial redistributors should be required to attach a notice to their reproductions to the effect that the materials are available in their original form from a GoC Web site. Finally, it is important to consider adequate protection for third-party copyright materials and graphical elements on GoC Web sites. Generally, it is preferable for institutional Web sites to provide links to the third-party materials, rather than host them directly. An institution that hosts non-Crown copyright materials that are subject to prohibitions on reproduction really has no meaningful way of ensuring that the third-party copyright is respected. In such cases, a "third-party copyright" notice should be provided that indicates the conditions for reproduction of non-Crown copyrighted content. |
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