Post Tagged with: "aucc"

Other People’s Money: Why AUCC Signed the Most Expensive Copyright Insurance Policy in Cdn History

Car rental companies are infamous for encouraging customers to sign up for expensive liability insurance policies. Since many renters already have coverage from their own automotive insurance policies or can rely upon insurance coverage provided by their credit card issuer, the decision whether to sign up for a costly additional policy frequently depends upon who is paying the bill. If the individual is on the hook, they will often decline coverage and rely on their existing policies. If someone else is paying, it becomes easier to justify signing up for the additional coverage.

Last week, the Association of Universities and Colleges Canada, which represents dozens of Canada’s leading universities, signed up for one of the most expensive copyright insurance policies in Canadian history. My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes the policy comes in the form of a controversial model copyright licensing agreement with Access Copyright, a copyright collective that licenses copying and distribution of copyrighted works such as books, journals, and other texts. Should AUCC members sign the agreement – it falls to each individual university to decide whether to do so – they will pay $26 per full time student per year for the right to copy works from the Access Copyright repertoire.

April 24, 2012 — 25 comments — Columns

Other People’s Money: Why AUCC Signed the Most Expensive Copyright Insurance Policy in Cdn History

Appeared in the Toronto Star on April 22, 2012 as The most expensive copyright insurance policy in Canadian history Car rental companies are infamous for encouraging customers to sign up for expensive liability insurance policies. Since many renters already have coverage from their own automotive insurance policies or can rely […]

April 24, 2012 — Comments are Disabled — Columns Archive

More Reaction to the AUCC – Access Copyright Deal

I posted my initial reaction to the AUCC – Access Copyright deal yesterday. Other comments come from CAUT, Ariel Katz, Sam Trosow, Michael Ridley, and Meera Nair.

April 18, 2012 — Comments are Disabled — News

Access Copyright and AUCC Strike a Deal: What It Means for Innovation in Education

Access Copyright and the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada announced an agreement yesterday on a model licence. The deal calls for a royalty payment of $26 per full time student, below the $45 Access Copyright was seeking at the Copyright Board (and below the $27.50 in the Toronto/Western deal), but well above the current rates. While the agreement is just a model that leaves it to the individual universities to decide whether to sign, it is hard to imagine that AUCC did not obtain some support from its member institutions for it before reaching agreement.

It is difficult to provide detailed comments on the agreement since the text is not yet available and the $26 figure is not based on anything more than a negotiated figure reflecting what two parties anxious to settle were willing to pay or accept. The reality is that it is primarily a product of a broken Copyright Board model that incentivizes lofty demands that set the bar higher for either a negotiated settlement or a Board rate setting exercise. It is not based on the actual value of the repertoire nor on the copying on campuses that fall outside of fair dealing, public domain, or the myriad of alternate licenses that already grants compensated access to thousand of journals and books.

April 17, 2012 — 8 comments — News

The Daily Digital Lock Dissenter, Day 28: Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada

The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada is the national voice for Canadian universities, representing 95 public and private not-for-profit universities and university degree-level colleges. The AUCC, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, has been outspoken on copyright issues. On the issue of digital locks, it told […]

November 11, 2011 — 1 comment — News