The reproduction of copyrighted materials is governed by the Copyright Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-42.
Courthouse Libraries BC is a not-for-profit organization and a registered charity established by the Law Society of British Columbia. It is funded by grants from the Law Society of British Columbia, the Law Foundation of British Columbia and the Ministry of Attorney General of British Columbia. The primary purpose of Courthouse Libraries BC is the provision of legal information services to members of the Law Society of British Columbia, to the judiciary of British Columbia and to members of the public.
Compliance with the Copyright Act is the responsibility of each user of the Society’s libraries and services.
As part of its research and reference services, staff of the Courthouse Libraries BC may copy legal information materials for users for the purpose of research (including research for court, tribunal or government proceedings), private study, criticism or review, subject to the guidelines set out below.
The copy service is provided to assist those who require access to legal information and is administered in accordance with the fair dealing provisions of the Copyright Act. The copy service is provided on a not-for-profit basis and the fee charged is intended to recover some of the costs associated with the provision of the service.
Guidelines
- A single copy of a reported judicial decision will be provided when it is required for the purpose of research (including research for court, tribunal or government proceedings), private study, criticism or review. For use in court, typically up to three copies may be made upon request, or more in special circumstances as required by the court.
- The individual requesting the copy must identify him/herself and the purpose of the request prior to the copying of the legal material.
- As a general rule, a copy provided under paragraph 1 will be fair if it consists of the following:
| Legislation - | portion required to fill a reasonable request |
| Annotated statutes and regulations - | less than 5% of the work or less than 10 pages (whichever is higher) |
| Legal text - | less than 5% of the work or less than 10 pages (whichever is higher) |
| Legal journal - | one article from a journal volume |
- A copy request that exceeds the amounts set out above may be filled in special circumstances at the discretion of a reference librarian if the librarian is satisfied that the dealing is fair in all the circumstances.
- Courthouse Libraries BC reserves the right to decline copy requests.
Any questions regarding these guidelines should be directed to a reference librarian.
This statement reflects the policy followed by Courthouse Libraries BC for many years, and is not to be regarded as a change in the Society’s approach to this matter.
Approved by the Board of Directors June 18, 2004