Quotation

In accordance with ‘incidental use’ in the Copyright & Related Rights Act, you may quote from works that have been lawfully made available to the public. No permission from the author is required to use permissible quotations. The quotation must be related to the quoter’s own text or the subject matter discussed in the presentation. In other words, the quotation should have a substantive connection to the quoter’s own text. For example, you cannot borrow or share expressions or phrases from another work solely to make your own text more interesting. A work that consists solely of quotations also cannot be created without permission. Quotations are often used, for instance, in academic theses, where students use previous research papers to address their own subject.

The length of the quotation or ‘extent justified by the purpose’ is not defined in law but must always be determined on a case-by-case basis. The purpose of quotation is usually to clarify or illustrate the subject under discussion. In such cases, the quotation can be longer if necessary to explain or illustrate the subject.

When using quotation, it is necessary to distinguish the text quoted from your own by using quotation marks, and to acknowledge the source of the quotation, i.e., identifying the work by its title or other description and identifying the creator by their name. 

[CRRA Sec. 52(4)]

Quotation may also be possible under copyright exceptions for review and criticism and for parody, which fall under the ‘fair dealing’ exceptions.