The University of Manitoba has now joined the group of universities who have chosen not to renew their contract with Access Copyright, the collective that provides licences for copying and course packs for universities across Canada.

U of M vice-president (academic) and provost Joanne Keselman explained in an email to the university community that the decision surrounds the “significant developments” to copyright law over in recent years, particularly the proposed new Copyright Act under Bill C-32. “The use of copyrighted material by faculty, students, and staff has changed, with a growing emphasis on electronic resources,” Keselman wrote.

The collective has also proposed a new tariff for post-secondary institutions, which would make universities pay $45 per student, versus the $3.38 plus 10 cents per copied page for coursepacks they currently pay. Keselman explained that this increase “cannot be justified” in light of the increasing use of these electronic resources.

Instead of renewing their contract, the university will be using their funds to “modernize” their resources and services, “rather than perpetuating the antiquated relationship with Access Copyright,” Keselman wrote.

As a result of this decision, the university has participated with other members of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) to develop new guidelines to be recommended for adoption by other institutions in the AUCC.

Legal counsel and manger of legal service for Access Copyright, Erin Finlay, explained that the collective had “no choice” but to file a tariff with the Copyright
Board of Canada, since the tariff was up for renewal this year.

When asked why universities should stay with the collective despite rising costs, Finlay said that Access Copyright “makes the business of clearing works for reproduction simple and easy through collective licences.”

“While it is certainly open to an institution to attempt to clear or license every copy a professor or student makes, we believe that it will be incredibly inefficient for an institution to do so.”

Finlay said that the new fee would be easier to administer, since it no longer charges students 10 cents per page for their course packs.

“The tariff will also provide the institutions with comfort that they can make copies, within certain limits, without infringing the copyright of authors and publishers,” Finlay explained.  

“The tariff benefits publishers and authors by ensuring they will be fairly compensated when their works are copied in post-secondary institutions instead of purchased.”

However, law professor and Canada Research Chair of Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, Michael Geist, told the Manitoban that he feels the collective should be charging universities less, not more.

“The realities of how education accesses and uses materials are changing and the need for the Access Copyright licence is diminishing, not growing,” said Geist. 

“In light of these changes, the demands are outrageous.”

Geist recently wrote in the Toronto Star that the proposed tariff may push universities toward a greater use of electronic materials. He explained to the Manitoban that the increasing use of databases such as the Canadian Knowledge Research Network has diminished the need for the Access Copyright licence.

“I think many universities are in the process of moving toward relying on these alternatives, which offer some great long-term benefits, including greater flexibility, broader access and more efficient spending,” said Geist.

Other institutions who have decided not to renew their contract with Access Copyright include the University of Alberta, where libraries will no longer be able to keep reserve materials on their shelves, according to U of A student newspaper, the Gateway.

The University of British Columbia has also decided not to renew their contact and is now developing a licence database to find the rights to works for students and instructors.

An interim tariff that would keep the current fee universities pay in place until 2013 was passed by the Copyright Board of Canada in late December, while the new proposed tariff is pending further review.