U of G Opting Out of Copyright Agreement
June 29, 2012 - Campus Bulletin
After extensive review, the University of Guelph will opt out of a national copyright licensing agreement reached between the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) and Access Copyright.
The University had signed a non-binding letter of intent to participate in the model licence before a May deadline to qualify for discount incentives, and used the intervening time to arrive at this final decision.
The decision follows similar steps by numerous Canadian universities, including the University of Waterloo, Queen’s University, the University of British Columbia, the University of Windsor, York University and Trent University.
As well, Bill C-11, the Copyright Modernization Act, was passed recently. It includes several new educational exceptions that are not accounted for in the AUCC Access Copyright licence.
"Guelph has a long history of attention to compliance issues and engagement with the principles of fair dealing and open access,” said Rebecca Graham, U of G’s chief information officer and chief librarian.
She said the decision best meets the intellectual and financial needs of U of G students and faculty and fulfils the University’s commitment to academic freedom and open access, including the sharing of digital materials and scholarly content.
Graham said the University will continue to provide students and faculty with the resources needed to acquire learning and research materials, while ensuring access to copyrighted materials through existing licensing agreements and appropriate payment to authors and publishers, or by using fair dealing and other exceptions in the Copyright Act.
Copyright clearance services and fair-dealing guidance are available through the library. With this decision, U of G continues to contribute to the growing community of institutions adopting best practices for managing their own copyright without the need for a collective licence, Graham said.
