Copyright procedures to change in 2012

The University of Victoria will be opting out of the Access Copyright (AC) Interim Tariff at the end of August 2012, raising to 35 the number of universities represented by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) that have opted out. Had UVic stayed in the Agreement, the proposed tariff would have resulted in an increase  in the university’s annual royalty payments to Access Copyright from $60,000 to $700,000. Access Copyright is a not-for-profit organization that represents the reproduction rights of and distributes royalties to Canadian writers, visual artists and publishers.

Under the Interim Tariff, UVic paid an annual fee to Access Copyright that applied to the photocopying of books and journals, classroom handouts, library reserve materials, coursepacks and out-of-print works.

Beginning Sept. 1, 2012, all copyright permissions, including coursepacks, will be cleared by the university’s Copyright Office. The UVic Bookstore will handle print coursepack distribution and sales.

“It is important that all faculty, staff and students continue to abide by the requirements of Canadian copyright legislation when making copies or distributing copyrighted material electronically,” says university Copyright Officer Inba Kehoe. “The Copyright Office has developed best practice guidelines that we are sharing at workshops and departmental meetings, and we encourage faculty and instructors to contact us for assistance.”

As additional lead time may be required to process copyright permissions next fall, faculty are encouraged to plan ahead and consider alternatives to materials covered by the Copyright Act and license agreements. Subject librarians in the McPherson, Curriculum and Law libraries are available to assist faculty members and instructors, and Bookstore staff can assist with textbook ordering and coursepack sales.

UVic continues to work with other universities and the AUCC to advocate for the adoption of improved copyright laws that are more responsive to the needs of the university community.

Visit the website of the Copyright Office at http://copyright.uvic.ca for resources and updates. Contact copyrite@uvic.ca for more information, including a copyright primer, related policies and resources for faculty and students.