The Copyright Board of Canada has issued a preliminary decision indicating that it is rejecting the attempt by Access Copyright to exclude many intervenors to the proceeding on the university and college tariff.  The Board indicated that faculty, students, and staff should be permitted to participate as objectors.  The decision […]

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Howard Knopf posts an exceptionally important update on the latest developments in the Access Copyright tariff proposal, including the attempt by the copyright collective to exclude 99 of the 101 objectors to its proposal and subsequent demand for an interim tariff to be set by the Copyright Board that would keep the cash flowing even without a formal agreement in place.  Knopf points to many legal shortcomings in the Access Copyright position, most notably the serious questions about its repertoire and its ability to actually sue successfully for copyright infringement.

The latest developments further point to growing sentiment on Canadian campuses that it is time for post-secondary education to decline the coverage by walking away from Access Copyright.  Since this statement is bound to be mischaracterized as advocating not paying for the rights to use works, let me repeat what I consistently stated this summer.  The decision to walk away is not an effort to avoid paying appropriate rights fees.  Rather, it is based on the recognition that a collective licence is not the only way for a university to appropriately compensate for use. 

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Many people have written to note that Access Copyright, represented by Barry Sookman, filed a response to the many objections raised with the Copyright Board. Access Copyright argues that only educational institutions qualify as objectors in the proceeding.  It says all others – including student, teacher, and library groups – […]

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