SFU Records Retention Schedule and Disposal Authority (RRSDA)
Copyright Permission Clearances

Description | PIB | Authorities | Retentional rational | Rentention and filing guidelines | Status

RRSDA number

2005-007

Record series

Copyright Permission Clearances

Office of Primary Responsibility (OPR)

All University Departments (General Records Series)

Retention periods

Records Active retention (in office) Semi-active (records centre) Total retention Final disposition
Copyright Permission Clearances (Paper and Electronic Files) Term of Use S/O + 1 year 3 years Term of Use S/O + 4 years Destruction
Citation and Copyright Calculation Databases S/O Nil S/O Destruction
Access Copyright Royalty Reports CY + 1 year 3 years CY + 4 years Destruction

CY = Current calendar year; CFY = Current fiscal year; CS = Current semester; S/O = Superseded or obsolete; OPR = Office of Primary Responsibility; Non-OPR = All other departments.

Description, purpose and use of records

Records relating to permission clearances obtained from both Access Copyright (the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency) and publishers and copyright holders not covered by Access Copyright. Clearances of copyrighted works are sought on behalf of schools, departments, and instructors for use in teaching, research and study and in the delivery of distance education and online learning, the production of courseware or coursepacks, and in the provision of library services.

Records include correspondence (letters, faxes, e-mail) documenting permission clearance requests with independent copyright holders or Access Copyright or with faculty requesting use of copyrighted works; database reports or checklists documenting courses in which copyrighted works are used, copyright holders, bibliographic citations and publication data, total number of copies made, terms of permission, and fee and percentage calculations.

Records most often arranged by course name and number.

"Term of Use" refers to the term or period of time in which use of a copyrighted work has been granted by the copyright owner. "S/O" or "superseded/obsolete" refers to the end date of a stipulated term of use.

Note that this RRSDA does not apply to accounting records held by Financial Services.

For copyright permission clearances sought by graduate students as part of the preparation of a thesis, extended essay, or project, see RRSDA 2006-001, Student Thesis Files.

Authorities

These records are created, used, retained and managed in accordance with the following authorities:

Retention rationale

The retention periods prescribed by this RRSDA meets the auditing requirements of the agreement signed between SFU and Access Copyright as well as the legislated limitation periods set for criminal and civil copyright infringement actions.

Retention and filing guidelines

Copyright permission clearance records become superseded/obsolete (S/O) when the approved term of use expires. When working within the Access Copyright regime, terms of use are set and expire at definite periods. When dealing directly with publishers and copyright holders, terms of use are negotiable and can vary in length of time.

Records creators should note that this RRSDA applies equally to paper and electronic records and that they are responsible for deleting any records maintained in electronic form at the expiration of the total retention period (e.g. spreadsheets, e-mail correspondence, etc.).

Databases created to track bibliographic citations and publisher data and copyright percentage calculations and fees can be maintained until a new database is designed, superseding an older version or the database software application becomes obsolete. It is useful to maintain bibliographic data in this manner for potential future reference and reuse.

At the end of the active retention period, box and transfer paper files to the University Records Centre (URC). For each box prepare a box contents listing, itemizing all files contained in the box. Always include ONE copy of the file list inside the box sent to the URC taped to the underside of the lid; keep ONE copy for your own records; and send ONE copy (paper or electronic) to the Archives (see Procedures for Transferring Records to the University Records Centre).

Status

RRSDA is in force.

Approved by the University Archivist: 11 Apr 2006

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