Access Copyright Statement on Copyright Board Tariff Decision for Primary and Secondary Schools
On June 26, 2009, the Copyright Board of Canada, after careful consideration of evidence about what is being copied in Canadian primary and secondary schools, and after hearing from educational authorities, experts, and Access Copyright, set an inaugural tariff. The tariff will increase the compensation to creators and publishers whose works are photocopied for use in the classroom.
In so doing, the Copyright Board accepted Access Copyright’s position that governments were not paying a fair price for the hundreds of millions of photocopies used in schools as substitutes for buying the books.
“The tariff acknowledges the valuable contribution of Canada’s educational publishing industry,” said Maureen Cavan, Executive Director of Access Copyright. “This is important to Canadians everywhere, because only these publishers produce the books that bring Canadian values and our Canadian heritage into Canadian classrooms.”
The tariff of $5.16 per student per year, represents less than 0.05 percent of the cost of running Canada’s education system and can be absorbed without difficulty, the Copyright Board said in its own statement, accessible by clicking here.
“The tariff that the Copyright Board set is less than the cost of a bag of popcorn at the movies, but for Canadian creators, publishers and the writers and illustrators they employ, it’s very significant,” Ms. Cavan said.
On July 27, 2009, the Objectors to the Access Copyright Elementary and Secondary School Tariff (2005-2009) filed an application for judicial review of the Copyright Board’s decision. The judicial review, which is similar to an appeal, maintains that the Copyright Board erred in its analysis of fair dealing and in finding that the tests and examination exception to infringement in the Copyright Act did not apply, and requests that the Federal Court of Appeal send the case back to the Copyright Board to adjust the $5.16 tariff rate set by the Board in June 2009. We expect that the judicial review will be heard over the next few months, but a final decision in this important case may still be years away.
In 2004, Access Copyright applied to the Copyright Board for a tariff to cover the photocopying of printed works in its repertoire after negotiations with the educational sector on a fair rate of compensation failed. Access Copyright will continue to provide updates on this issue as they arise.
For media inquiries, background information and interviews, please call the Access Copyright media line 416-868-1620 x292 (1-800-893-5777 x292) or email media@accesscopyright.ca.
On June 26, 2009, the Copyright Board of Canada, after careful consideration of evidence about what is being copied in Canadian primary and secondary schools, and after hearing from educational authorities, experts, and Access Copyright, set an inaugural tariff. The tariff will increase the compensation to creators and publishers whose works are photocopied for use in the classroom.
In so doing, the Copyright Board accepted Access Copyright’s position that governments were not paying a fair price for the hundreds of millions of photocopies used in schools as substitutes for buying the books.
“The tariff acknowledges the valuable contribution of Canada’s educational publishing industry,” said Maureen Cavan, Executive Director of Access Copyright. “This is important to Canadians everywhere, because only these publishers produce the books that bring Canadian values and our Canadian heritage into Canadian classrooms.”
The tariff of $5.16 per student per year, represents less than 0.05 percent of the cost of running Canada’s education system and can be absorbed without difficulty, the Copyright Board said in its own statement, accessible by clicking here.
“The tariff that the Copyright Board set is less than the cost of a bag of popcorn at the movies, but for Canadian creators, publishers and the writers and illustrators they employ, it’s very significant,” Ms. Cavan said.
On July 27, 2009, the Objectors to the Access Copyright Elementary and Secondary School Tariff (2005-2009) filed an application for judicial review of the Copyright Board’s decision. The judicial review, which is similar to an appeal, maintains that the Copyright Board erred in its analysis of fair dealing and in finding that the tests and examination exception to infringement in the Copyright Act did not apply, and requests that the Federal Court of Appeal send the case back to the Copyright Board to adjust the $5.16 tariff rate set by the Board in June 2009. We expect that the judicial review will be heard over the next few months, but a final decision in this important case may still be years away.
In 2004, Access Copyright applied to the Copyright Board for a tariff to cover the photocopying of printed works in its repertoire after negotiations with the educational sector on a fair rate of compensation failed. Access Copyright will continue to provide updates on this issue as they arise.
For media inquiries, background information and interviews, please call the Access Copyright media line 416-868-1620 x292 (1-800-893-5777 x292) or email media@accesscopyright.ca.