Copyright FAQ

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Q. Is there any control on what people can upload into Canvas (in terms of copyright permissions)?

A. The responsibility for clearing copyright before uploading scanned (or other types) of electronic materials rests with the ‘owner’ of the particular Canvas course. Each department and college has a Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) representative who, together with subject librarians, can advise on copyright permissions and associated responsibilities.

Read more in our Canvas@Oxford guides: Copyright requirements

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Q. It is easy to embed images or YouTube videos in Canvas course pages (or modules). Is there any sort of auditing process or can anyone upload any item?

A. There is no auditing mechanism within Canvas. However, YouTube videos only appear in a YouTube embed widget when the person who uploaded the video has given embed permissions (i.e. the video may be used by others).

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Q. Is an administrator alerted to what has been uploaded to Canvas before the May deadline for Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) reporting?

A. The option for automatic notification when a file is uploaded to a Canvas course is switched off by default. You can switch it on, but this would hold the disadvantage of too many notifications to deal with. Regarding CLA compliance, the Talis Aspire (reading lists) platform has a built-in workflow for CLA – this project is yet to be rolled out, but more information will be provided as soon as possible.

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Q. Is an administrator alerted automatically if uploaded material does not comply with CLA requirements?

A. No. The responsibility for clearing copyright before uploading scanned (or other types) of electronic materials rests with the ‘owner’ of the particular Canvas course. There is a copyright/usage rights feature for files (which includes images used in Pages) in Canvas, so users have to consider and specify this before they are able to publish a file.

Read more in our Canvas@Oxford guides: Oxford-specific copyright guidance