Laura Conrad, News Editor
Dalhousie students and faculty might have to start being careful about what they send in emails and store in hard drives. A recent proposal to update analog-based copyright laws to adapt to the digital era has problems, say student groups.
Access Copyright, a non-profit organization that gives copyright licenses to public institutions, recently filed a tariff with the Copyright Board of Canada. The intended purpose of the so-called Post-Secondary Educational Institution Tariff is to update the current copyright laws to adapt to a more digitally oriented academic community. Access Copyright represents paper course materials at most Canadian universities, including Dalhousie.
If the proposed tariff is passed, Dalhousie faculty will have to pay royalties to send hyperlinks in emails to students. Students will also see an increase in copyright fees, and both students and faculty will have to have their hard drives wiped of all copyrighted materials at the end of every academic term.
“It just seems like a way for them to get more money. I don’t know why they’re going after students on this.”
Currently, at Dalhousie, students pay a flat rate of $3.39 per course, plus 10 cents per page in course packages for copyright fees. If the proposed tariff is passed, full-time students will be required to pay an approximate fee of $45 per year in copyright fees.
Access copyright says the reason for the proposed tariff is simply to update the existing copyright laws and apply them to digital materials. Access copyright believes that the proposal will make copyright procedures easier to administer, and that things will be easier with students only paying a flat rate instead of paying for course packs individually.
Executive director Maureen Cavan says the proposed tariff seeks to provide an additional ease of access, while giving compensation back to the copyright holder.
“This is just a new way of managing things,” she says.
The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) strongly objects the proposed tariff. In an official statement of objection, CASA says the Access Copyright proposal is clearly disrespectful of educational institutions. CASA’s National Director Zach Dayler says the proposed tariff hinders academic freedom.
“This is going to limit innovation,” he says. “We’re trying to make sure students have access to quality information. When they start putting in road blocks, it kind of defeats the purpose of education.”
Cavan says Access Copyright believes the proposed tariff will not stifle academic freedom in anyway.
“It’s not stifling anything,” she says. “This license has been around since the mid-90s. Everyone who doesn’t like to pay fees is going to react, but compensation must be paid to somebody for the use of their property.”
Dayler says that not only the fees will be a problem, but other complications that will result from the proposed tariff.
“University staff does not need to be monitoring emails that could potentially have hyperlinks in them. That’s turning them into police officers.”
According to Cavan, hyperlinking should still be under the copyright law.
“Different uses of copyright material are being used,” she says. “(The law) used to cover photocopies. Now, professors will scan and link an article to a learning site. It’s still a copy made of a copyrighted piece of work. It should come under the license – it just replaces the photocopying.”
As CASA mentions in their official statement of objection, there is nothing in Access Copyright’s proposed tariff to address fair dealing, or the free use of copyrighted materials for private research and study. Dayler says these user rights need to be addressed.
“One of the most important things to remember about copyright is that it must maintain a fair balance to support both the creators and the users of the work.”
Dayler says CASA cannot agree with the proposed tariff because it fails to maintain this balance.
In response to the question of fair dealing, Cavan says it’s not up to Access Copyright to determine what’s considered private research and study.
“Is the use of copyrighted materials in an educational setting considered private study? That will be up to the Copyright Board to decide,” she says.
Dayler says Access Copyright is only trying to keep up with the constantly changing academic community.
“In all honesty, it just seems like a way for them to get more money. I don’t know why they’re going after students on this. Access Copyright deals with the printed page, and in an age where schools are making a transition to being online accessible, they’re trying to protect a model that’s outdated.”
Cavan says that it’s too soon to jump to any conclusions about the proposed tariff, and at the end of the day, it will be up to the Copyright Board to decide.
“There are different perspectives on what this tariff actually is,” she says. “Only the Copyright Board will determine what should be paid for and what doesn’t need to be paid for. These proceedings generally take several years.”
The hearings for the case have not been scheduled by the Copyright Board yet. The new royalty program will begin in January, 2011 if Access Copyright’s proposal is passed.
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