Michael Geist

The Canadian Press ran a story last week on the transition away from Access Copyright at Canadian universities. The transition was always going to require an adjustment given the clear commitment at the universities to respect copyright and obtain permission where required (a process facing delays due to the Access Copyright’s opposition to transactional licences). The article includes a quote from Professor Jeremy Richards, a geology professor at the University of Alberta, who indicates that he had stopped handing out some materials out of copyright concerns.

After the article was published, I contacted Professor Richards to learn more about his experience. Professor Richards has featured several posts on Access Copyright on his blog that have been sharply critical of the lack of support from the University of Alberta for faculty in making the transition. It turns out he is supportive of opting-out of Access Copyright but rightly expects the university to provide support for faculty.

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