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COPYRIGHT FAIRNESS The Canadian Copyright Act protects the…
COPYRIGHT FAIRNESS
The Canadian Copyright Act protects the creators-that is, authors- of works published on paper or in digital form.
he Act allows the use of these works without permission as long as certain conditions are met. Clause 29, Fair Dealing, allows use for the purpose of research, private study, or parody or satire.
The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (CANCOPY), known as Access Copyright, was established in 1988 by a collective of creators and publishers that provided educational and other institutions access to protected work. It was a central organization to provide photocopy licensing of published works while ensuring rights holders would be fairly compensated for that coping. Access Copvright’s role in protecting the rights of creators and publishers
increased over the vears.
The interpretation of fair dealing has been problematic. A court case decision in 2004 ruled that fair dealing was a
“user’s right.” Another decision in 2012 determined that an educator could make copies for all students in a class. A revision of the Act in 2012 added “education” to the list of permitted purposes.
n2o11. York University opted out of access Coonight. ork and other universities in their association. Universities Canada, seized the opportunity provided by this decision and developed the “Fair Dealing Guidelines that permitted extensive copying. Universities Canada said that these guidelines were a balanced approach to copyright fair dealing.
Students would benefit, as there would be increased accessibility to materials, which would impact the quality of
post-secondary education. The guidelines allowed for the use of short excerpts from works that were identified as up to 10 percent of a copyright-protected work, one chapter from a book, and a single article from a periodical. Costs to
Access
Copvright was committed to upholding the rights of creators and publishers and was mandated to ensure they were fairiv compensated when their works were used. As a result. it sued York University, claiming improper reproducing of protected works. Critics of the university pointed out that it was harming many of its own emplovees, who generated the works being denied royalties. Publishers pointed out that there were fewer Canadian works being written and that some publishers were experiencing financial difficulties and others had gone out of business.
In July 2017, the court ruled that York University didn’t have the right to opt out of paying royalties and stated that the guidelines were not fair. The court concluded that the guidelines did not meet the test for fair dealing established
br the Supreme Court of Canada. The judge stated that the guidelines were arbitrar and untairly designed to get works without paving. York University is appealing the decision. Meanwhile, the government is reviewing the Act.
Questions
???Is the protection of intellectual property important to business and society?
???Should written works be protected?
who are the stakeholders involved?
4. What is fair from the perspectives of the various stakeholders?
