Copyright Considerations

Students may not record any portion of a lecture without the prior and explicit written permission of the course instructor. Provostial guidelines on the Appropriate Use of Information and Communication Technology, available at https://www.provost.utoronto.ca/planning-policy/information-communication-technology-appropriate-use/, state that:

The unauthorised use of any form of device to audiotape, photograph, video-record or otherwise reproduce lectures, course notes or teaching materials provided by instructors is covered by the Canadian Copyright Act and is prohibited. Students must obtain prior written consent to such recording. In the case of private use by students with disabilities, the instructor’s consent must not be unreasonably withheld.

Instructors may include this statement in their course outline if they wish, or may explain the policy during the first class. If instructors wish to offer broad permission to record lectures, this information may be included as a written statement in the course outline. Please see the end of this document for sample statements that can be included on your course outline.

Once permission to record is given, it may nonetheless be rescinded at any time or for particular lectures or class sessions.

Instructors should also communicate to students how recorded lecture material may be used or distributed.  In particular, instructors should communicate whether lecture material is for personal use only, whether lecture recordings can be shared with other students in the course (e.g., through the course Quercus site or through email), or whether lecture recordings may be posted to a publicly-accessible website.