Access Copyright

Access © or Access Copyright is the operating name of a Canada Business Corporations Act corporation whose official registration name is The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (formerly Cancopy). It is a not-for-profit copyright collective that collects revenues from licensed Canadian businesses, government, schools, libraries and other copyright users for the photocopying of print works and distributes those monies to the rightsholders of those works, such as publishers and authors from Canada and around the world.

Access Copyright covers works published in Australia, Argentina, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States.

University model license

When universities sign on to a license with Access Copyright (negotiated by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) or the Association of Canadian Community Colleges), their professors and students are given permission to do certain copying of copyrighted works. The university is generally charged a base rate per full-time student for this license, usually passed down to students in the form of mandatory fees.
''2011 AUCC model license''
A new model, negotiated by AUCC in 2011, would see universities pay a rate of $26 per full-time student. The old agreement, which expired in 2010, charged only $3.38 plus an additional 10 cents per page coursepacks, photocopied compilations of readings designed by instructors and sold to students.Ottawa universities mulling over controversial new copyright agreement
, Ottawa Citizen, 3 June 2012 Moreover, additional stipulations would proscribe faculty and students from keeping copies of journal articles in personal libraries, or on personal computers or email accounts.

These changes have proved controversial, and numerous universities have opted out of the deal.

''Universities that have opted out:''
* Athabasca University
*Brock University
*Carleton University
*MacEwan University
*McMaster University
*Memorial University
*Mount Allison University
*Mount Royal University
* Queen's University
*Ryerson University
*University of Alberta
*University of British Columbia
*University of Calgary
*University of New Brunswick
*University of Ottawa
*University of Saskatchewan
*University of Toronto
*University of Victoria
*University of Manitoba
*University of Waterloo
*University of Western Ontario
*University of Windsor
*University of Winnipeg
*York University

''Universities that have signed on:''

Controversy

Access Copyright has also started charging universities for e-mailing links to copyrighted information, even in cases where there was no copyrighted material present. They are charging the full price for each link e-mailed.

In late 2019, Access Copyright obtained a court order requiring 300 schools across Canada to supply handouts and lesson plans from the last seven years. The demand, intended to find use of copyright material, was described as a 'logistical nightmare'.

See also

* Copyright Clearance Center
* Captain Copyright
* '' Alberta (Education) v Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright)''

References

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External links

Access Copyright website

Canadian copyright law
Copyright collection societies
Trade associations based in Canada