Can I Use This? Fair Dealing and Copyright for Creatives

Incorporating others’ copyrighted material into your own creative works can be precarious.  For artists appropriating and remixing existing images, sampling footage, or building work from other people’s content, the same questions frequently arise: what am I actually allowed to use, and how am I allowed to use it?

Join Artists’ Legal Advice Services (ALAS) and IP lawyer Alyssa Gaffen for a practical, plain-language overview of fair dealing in Canada and the related questions that shape what creators can and can’t do with existing work.  The session will address how fair dealing works, how to tell whether your use is likely to qualify, and what to consider when it doesn’t (e.g. permissions and licensing).  From gallery walls to documentary films and social feeds, we’ll look at how this plays out in the real work of creatives.  Bring your questions, as there will be time for Q&A.

About the Speaker

Alyssa Gaffen is a lawyer who has practiced in all areas of intellectual property law, supported artists with entertainment law questions and disputes, and advocated for clients in regulated industries with respect to the Access to Information Act. Alyssa has experience with litigation before the Federal Court and Court of Appeal, the Ontario Superior Court and Small Claims Court, and the Supreme Court of Canada. Outside the courtroom, she has advised the Government of Canada on IP litigation and counseled businesses about IP, licensing, and regulatory issues.  Alyssa also serves the artistic community as Duty Counsel with the Artists’ Legal Advice Services (ALAS) clinic, helping creators with copyright, trademark, contracts, privacy, defamation, and other concerns.