Copyright Policy

A. STATEMENT OF CORPORATE VALUES

We at AMMI Canada recognize and respect intellectual property rights and are committed to fulfilling our moral and legal obligations with respect to our use of copyright-protected works.

Purpose

The policy outlines the AMMI Canada’s position on the use of copyright material by members of the institution. Effectively, this policy will:

– state AMMI Canada’s position on the interpretation and application of the Copyright Act and related laws;

– state AMMI Canada’s position on the legal use of copyright materials by members of this association;

– serve to limit the potential legal liability of AMMI Canada and its members for copyright infringement through the exercise of due diligence when using copyright material;

– be the basis to identify and implement specific procedures to effect compliance with copyright laws.

B. STATEMENT OF CORPORATE OBLIGATIONS REGARDING COPYRIGHT

As a matter of moral integrity and adherence to copyright law, AMMI Canada sets forth these policies for all employees, volunteers, and faculty:

No employee, volunteer, or faculty of AMMI Canada may reproduce any copyrighted work in print, video or digital form in violation of the law. Works are considered protected even if they are not registered with the federally legislated Copyright Act and related laws, or any registering agency outside Canada and even if they do not carry the copyright symbol (©). Copyrighted works include, but are not limited to: printed articles from publications, electronic articles in online publications, online videos, movies, TV and radio programs, recorded music performances, images, training materials, manuals, documentation, software programs, databases, websites and blogs. In general, the laws that apply to printed materials also apply to visual and digital formats such as websites, streaming media, music downloads, mobile apps, CDs and DVDs.
Questions concerning copyright procedures, including fair use, should be addressed to the AMMI Canada Executive Director, who serves as our copyright officer.

C. INSTRUCTIONS FOR HANDLING COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT

AMMI Canada expects its employees, volunteers, and faculty to be responsible consumers of copyrighted materials. We also encourage employees to educate their peers on copyright compliance. If any employee, volunteer, or faculty witnesses a potential copyright infringement, please bring the matter to the attention of the individual as well as to our Executive Director, who serves as our copyright compliance officer.

D. ACCREDITATION AND COPYRIGHT PROCEDURES FOR SPEAKERS/FACULTY INVOLVED IN CONTENT DEVELOPMENT

1. Speaker Requirements	AMMI Canada Speakers and Faculty must complete a checklist that requires them to read and understand the AMMI Canada Copyright Policy. Speakers must also confirm in writing that they will obtain all necessary permissions for material included in their presentation and provide all necessary references and copyright acknowledgements accordingly.
2. Copyright Cheat Sheet	A “cheat sheet” of support materials, including how to properly reference materials per our policy, is provided to speakers prior to the development of their slides.
3. Accreditation Review of Copyright	All presentation slides must be submitted to AMMI Canada for accreditation review prior to the presentation. Accreditation reviewers must notify the speaker of any missing or inappropriately referenced journal articles, images, etc. The speaker must rectify these issues and submit their presentation for re-review and final accreditation approval prior to presenting their slides.
4. Speaker Breach – Mitigation Strategy	Speakers are held accountable to the checklist they completed, confirming that they would adhere to the copyright policy. The copyright policy is considered breached if members of the AMMI Canada Accreditation team notice a discrepancy between the presentation that was accredited and the presentation delivered that goes against the AMMI Canada copyright policy and the agreement signed by the presenter, or if a complaint is submitted via the evaluation. If the copyright policy is breached at the time of the presentation, AMMI Canada will follow-up with the speaker to notify them of the breach. The first infraction will be a written warning from the Accreditation Chair. If the speaker returns for another presentation and there is a 2nd infraction, the speaker will again be notified in writing by the Accreditation Chair and the AMMI Canada President. The speaker will be prevented from speaking on behalf of AMMI Canada for a period of 3 months. AMMI Canada will require approval from the Accreditation Chair and the Scientific Planning Committee Co-Chairs prior to inviting the speaker back in the future. This applies to the AMMI Canada – CACMID Annual Conference as well as programs outside of conference.