Office of the Vice-President Academic & Provost
To: University of Waterloo Community & Daily Bulletin
From: Geoff McBoyle, Vice-President, Academic and Provost
Re: Access Copyright Update
Date: July 14, 2011
As indicated by Bruce Mitchell earlier this year (see Daily Bulletin, January 11), for some years, and on behalf of Waterloo and all Canadian universities, except for those in Quebec, the Association of Universities and Colleges Canada (AUCC) negotiated a photocopying and course pack licence with Access Copyright. The last license ended on December 31, 2010. In the spring of 2010, Access Copyright proposed to the Copyright Board of Canada a tariff for 2011-13 which included some contentious changes, most notably a significant increase in royalty payments. In response to this proposal, AUCC and others filed objections with the Copyright Board, and the Copyright Board will be considering these objections over the next several years. In late December 2010, the Copyright Board issued an interim tariff pending consideration of the above objections and the eventual certification of a final tariff for the 2011-13 period. At that time, Waterloo decided to continue to conduct business with Access Copyright by operating under the interim tariff for at least the immediate future.
This memo is to inform the broader University of Waterloo community that, effective August 31, 2011, the University of Waterloo and the federated and affiliated universities and colleges will no longer operate under the interim tariff. As a result, some common University copying practices may no longer be authorized, and it will require that in some cases we modify the way we make copies for teaching or administrative purposes.
Courseware production is one area which will be significantly affected after August 31. It is important that faculty and instructors contact the Bookstore immediately about courseware packages required for the fall term.
We are committed to providing support and advice to assist faculty and staff as we move into a new “copying” environment. Over the next few weeks and into the fall term, we will among others things:
- Update the Waterloo copyright web site
- Release on the web site an updated Waterloo Copyright FAQ
- Distribute and mount on the web site, “Copyright at the University of Waterloo: A Guide for Instructors”
- Provide information on new Fair Dealing Guidelines
- Provide updates at various committees and councils such as Senate, Senate Undergraduate Council, Senate Graduate and Research Council, and other fora as appropriate and as opportunities arise
- Introduce new and better ways to obtain information for teaching, research and administrative purposes
In the interim, should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me, Bruce Mitchell, Associate Provost, Resources, or Mark Haslett, University Librarian.
