Appeared in the Toronto Star on September 13, 2010 as Significant New Costs Loom for Students Thousands of Canadian students headed back to school last week with many facing rising loans to pay for tuition, books, and accommodation. As students struggle to make ends meet, significant new costs loom on […]
Post Tagged with: "education"
“Legislative Guidance” on Fair Dealing: The Plan to Reverse CCH?
In the discussion that has followed, I believe that it has become increasingly clear that the “legislative guidance” is not really about the fair dealing reforms found in C-32, but rather fair dealing more generally. Unfortunately, the writers’ letter only speaks of their concerns and does not provide any specific policy or legislative reform recommendations that would clarify their intentions. However, with the government having opened up the fair dealing provision, those groups may see an opportunity to reverse the Supreme Court of Canada’s CCH decision that characterized fair dealing as a user right and established guidelines for its interpretation.
Why do I arrive at this conclusion?
Oshawa School Trustee Seeks Elimination Of Copyright Fees
An Oshawa school trustee wants copyright fees eliminated for non-profit school boards in the wake of a new bill for $900,000 in photocopy fees.
61 Reforms to C-61, Day 53: Education Internet Exception Easily Avoided
Over the past two days, I've argued that the Internet exception for education is both unnecessary and potentially harmful. It is also so easily avoided as to be almost useless. As noted earlier, one way to avoid the exception is the use of DRM. Another is to simply place a […]
61 Reforms to C-61, Day 52: Education Internet Exception Is Harmful
The Internet exception is more than just unnecessary – it is harmful. First, rather than improving access, the exception will actually encourage people to take content offline or to erect barriers that limit access (including DRM). Section 30.04(3) provides that:
Subsection (1) does not apply if the work or other subject-matter – or the Internet site where it is posted – is protected by a technological measure that restricts access to the work or other subject-matter or to the Internet site.
In other words, in return for the exception, CMEC and AUCC has effectively pushed the government to include a provision that encourages creators to use DRM or restrict access to their work. Many website owners who may be entirely comfortable with non-commercial or limited educational use of their materials, may object to a new law that grants the education community unfettered (and uncompensated) usage rights. Accordingly, many sites may opt out of the exception by making their work unavailable to everyone. This is obviously a lose-lose scenario that arises directly out of the exception.
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