Today Access Copyright issued a media release stating that it will bring legal action against York University in relation to York’s Fair Dealing Policy. In addition, legal steps have been taken towards the K-12 sector. We will, of course, be watching this situation closely.
Ubyssey article provides great overview of the Access Copyright Issue, from a UBC perspective
This article, by Arno Rosenfeld, features UBC counsel Hubert Lai discussing UBC’s decision to move away from Access Copyright for their rights management. The article provides thorough and balanced background on the Access/Post-secondary tug-of-war of the past several years, albeit from a UBC perspective. A good overview for those who want to familiarize themselves with the issues.
PeerJ hits the ground running
PeerJ, the peer reviewed open access journal, launched today! See the PeerJ Blog: http://blog.peerj.com/
Recent developments in the K-12 Access Copyright Saga
On January 19th, the Canadian Copyright Board issued a redetermination of fees associated with primary and secondary schools’ use of copyrighted works from 2005 to 2009. Reasons given in the decision document indicated that fees will be reduced from $5.16 to $4.81 per FTE, partially because of the expanded fair dealing definition as outlined in the Supreme Court decision Alberta (Education) v. Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright) July 12, 2012.
Category 4 copies (class handouts) have been removed from the tariff calculation. Copies for tests or exams were also deemed “fair”, to make available in a “medium appropriate for that purpose”.
Refund cheques for overpayment are due back to school boards by the end of the fiscal year. This is not the end of the K-12 saga, however. According to Michael Geist, rumour has it that Canadian K-12 schools intend to opt out of the proposed 2013-2015 tariff entirely. Better save those refund cheques for legal fees.
We are anxious to see whether our own Post-Secondary 2011-2013 Access Copyright Tariff will meet the same fate. Hearings begin Tuesday Feb.11, 2014. Yes, that’s right, more than a year away.
What’s Ahead for Intellectual Property Law in 2013?
Canadian Copyright pundits Michael Geist and Howard Knopf ruminate on what’s to come in the next year.
Michael Geist’s Blog: “Crystal Ball Gazing at the Year Ahead in Tech Law and Policy”
Howard Kopf’s Blog: “What to Watch for in Canadian Intellectual Property Law in 2013”
Majority sign Access Copyright License
July 9, 2012 | University Affairs | Peggy Berkowitz
A third of Canadian universities did not sign the Access Copyright license and chose to rely on digital licensing, educational exception and open access copyright or pay publishers on a case by case basis.
For full article see: http://www.universityaffairs.ca/majority-of-canadian-universities-sign-licence-with-access-copyright.aspx
York not signing AC license
York University | May 29, 2012
Vice-President Academic & Provost Patrick Monahan, acting president of York University, issued this announcement to the community:
After careful review, a decision has been made that York University will not be entering into the Access Copyright licence agreement that was negotiated by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC).
Along with several other Canadian universities, York has been operating outside of the Access Copyright tariff since September 1, 2011. This decision supports York &s continuing commitment to ensuring access to copyrighted materials for study and research with appropriate payment to authors and publishers.
For more information see: http://copyright.info.yorku.ca/
Geist on AUCC/AC Model License
Michael Geist Blog | May 24, 2012
“Copyright has emerged as a hot issue on Canadian university campuses in recent weeks as schools consider whether to sign the Access Copyright model licence negotiated with the AUCC. Several schools, including UBC, Athabasca, Windsor, and Winnipeg have already indicated that they will not sign the licence, while others (such as Queen’s, Victoria and Calgary) have reluctantly signed the letter of intent. Many groups have voiced their strong objection to the licence, including the CAUT, APLA, BCLA, MLA, CFS, and CASA. These groups represent faculty, students, and librarians – the three groups within education most affected by the model licence.”
For more on the post see: http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/6507/125/
U of Winnipeg rejects copyright deal
Nick Martin | May 19, 2012 | Winnipeg Free Press
“The University of Winnipeg is opting out of a national copyright deal the U of W says would be a waste of $200,000 a year.
University president Lloyd Axworthy said this week that the university senate will vote next week to opt out of a copyright licence agreement the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada has signed with Access Copyright, a private company based in downtown Toronto.”
For more on the story see: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/u-of-w-rejects–copyright-deal-as-money-grab-152135325.html
U of Victoria to sign Access Copyright model license
May 15, 2012 | University of Victoria
The University of Victoria has informed Access Copyright, a Canadian copyright collective, that it will sign the model license recently negotiated by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) which covers the costs of reproducing a range of digital materials for research and teaching purposes.
For more on the annoucement see: https://www.uvic.ca/current/campus/announcements/current/aucc-license.php