Canadian Lawyer InHouse

45 canadianLawyErmag.com/inhousE august 2014 die, originally planned for February, and is collecting information to prepare for this new, expanded part. "We do not yet know when or how the hearing will resume," says Access Copy- right's Finlay. "It is unfortunate that the educational user community has chosen to withdraw from a process that was designed to assess the impact of fair dealing for edu- cational purposes by an independent, ex- pert arbitrator. Their withdrawal has made the process more difficult for both Access Copyright and the Copyright Board. Ob- viously, we are very eager to have the case decided on its merits." schooLs changE copyright procEssEs Meanwhile, universities have been rethink- ing their relationships with Access Copy- right. Last December, U of T and Western University announced they would not re- new their licences. The schools said they had failed to reach agreements with Access Copyright that, in U of T's words, "reflect- ed the significant evolution in copyright regulation that has occurred." According to University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist, UBC, U of T, Western, and York are the tip of the iceberg for Access Copyright. "I expect that when the contracts run out for the remaining institutions that signed on just before the Supreme Court decisions, they will likely opt out, too." Hubert Lai, general counsel for the University of British Columbia, agrees. "I think we'll be able to count the number of universities who do renew their agreements on our fingers." ExpErts dEbatE fairnEss Fairness may be the heart of copyright justice. This past May, Brock University hosted a debate between lawyer Howard Knopf and Access Copyright executive di- rector Roanie Levy. They discussed what's fair, how to assess fairness, and how Access Copyright should operate. Knopf suggested that given the Supreme Court decision and the act amendments, schools may be better off without Access Copyright licences. "If universities can le- gally comply with copyright at a lower cost than Access Copyright charges by relying on publishers' licences, fair dealing, trans- actional licences, open access, etc., they can and should do so." Levy said Access Copyright helps pub- lishers recoup their costs and thrive. "It es- sentially rewards the investments made by the creators and publishers of those works that are valued enough to be shared with students. And it ensures that there is a con- tinued investment into new publications." Knopf said if Access Copyright changed the way it operates to deliver real value to schools, it would win back the post-second- ary institutions. Judging from a statement it made when it announced the York Uni- versity lawsuit last year, Access Copyright is trying to do just that: develop a new busi- ness model. "Access Copyright believes in a strong and vibrant culture of writing, publishing, reading, teaching and learn- ing in Canada and is exploring new ways to meet the needs of teachers and students in this new digital learning environment," the group said. IH I n d u s t r y S p o t l i g h t COMING SOON! This an opportunity for in-house counsel to weigh in on their relationships with external law fi rms, alternative fee arrangements and more. The annual Canadian Lawyer Corporate Counsel Survey. Watch for the survey online August 11. Deadline for completing the survey is September 15. canadianlawyermag.com/survey Sponsored by: canadianlawyermag.com

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