Jun 122012
 
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Writers and publishers urge universities to respect copyright.

by John Degen

On June 12, a letter was sent to the administration and governance heads of universities and colleges across Canada, expressing support for the recent model collective licences signed by university and college organizations. It is a remarkable document, representing a broad coalition of writer and publisher groups and individuals. You can see for yourself that many of the individuals who signed the letter (including world-renowned author, Margaret Atwood and Canada's current Parliamentary Poet Laureate, Fred Wah) are post-secondary instructors as well as cultural workers.

Including all the signatories and organizations involved in creating the message, this letter represents the collective opinion of thousands of individual cultural workers in Canada. There can be no doubt that Canadian writers and publishers want their rights collectively represented in the educational market, and that they see collective licensing as the best solution for everyone in the licensing arrangement, educators and students included.

I am pleased to say I helped in the drafting of the letter, and I proudly signed it as a Canadian author. If the small number of rogue universities and colleges that have decided not to license Canadian work think Canada's writers and publishers won't notice, they might want to think again.

Here's the letter:

We, the undersigned, wish to thank and congratulate the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC), the Association of Community Colleges of Canada (ACCC), and all the universities, colleges and academic libraries who have indicated their support for the model licences for blanket copyright clearance through Access Copyright.

As creators and producers of the important Canadian content used in lecture halls, seminars and institutions across the country, we license our copyrights to our collective society, Access Copyright, for greater efficiency. This arrangement has worked for more than two decades to ease clearance administration in post-secondary institutions and to ensure Canadian writers and publishers are compensated when our work is copied for educational use.

Canadian writers and publishers clearly see collective licensing as the best solution for everyone.

We believe the model licences endorsed by the AUCC and ACCC represent wins for students, librarians, universities, colleges, publishers, and creators. By licensing, for the first time, works in digital form, they provide new flexibility for anyone who uses copyright-protected material in higher education. By eliminating the per-page fee for course packs, they create very flexible clearance for students, who are the heaviest users of course materials. By covering an enormous range of copyright works, they allow scholars access to virtually anything they please, without the need to find rightsholders directly and negotiate one-off licences. And, by ensuring fair compensation for authors and publishers, these licences will contribute to the creation of new works.

We have heard the messages of those who advocate against the adoption of these licences, and we believe their concerns are based on misconceptions. These agreements do not require undue monitoring, and do not assume new rights. Collective licensing organizations like Access Copyright are invaluable partners to education, providing a crucial, streamlined link to those who create and produce educational materials. Remove the collective licensing option, and access to new materials would be needlessly complicated.

While Canada's Copyright Modernization Act does increase exceptions, it does not change the essential logic or principle of copyright. When a writer's work is used by others, the writer must be compensated. Where there are exceptions, the Act must continue to operate in a way that ensures writers' incomes are not damaged, and the economic incentive to create the very works that institutions use is not diminished. As libraries and educational institutions discover new technologies and ways of sharing our work with students and the public, the royalty structure must follow suit.

We are disappointed that a small number of educational institutions and academic libraries have declared such licensing invalid or unnecessary. We remain hopeful that a closer examination of the licences will cause them to change their position. We want to thank you, the overwhelming majority of educational and information professionals in Canada, for setting a better example.

    A message to Canada's universities and colleges from Canada's writers and publishers

Margaret Atwood Author; former Instructor at the University of British Columbia, Sir George Williams University, University of Alberta, York University; former Writer in Residence at the University of Toronto

Eugene Benson Author; University Professor Emeritus at the University of Guelph

Suzanne Boles Writer; Past President, Professional Writers Association of Canada

Ron Brown Author; Past Chair, The Writers' Union of Canada

Mike Bryan Vice-President, Canadian Publishers' Council

Greg Cook Author; former Professor at Acadia University and Saint Mary's University; former Writer in Residence at the University of Waterloo

Susan Crean Author; Instructor at York University, University of Toronto, UBC and Ryerson University

Erin Creasey Vice President, ECW Press; Council member, Association of Canadian Publishers

Alan Cumyn Author; former Writer in Residence, University of Ottawa

John Degen Author

William Deverell Author; B.A., J.D. University of Saskatchewan; D. Lett (Hon) from Simon Fraser University; former Professor at the University of Victoria

Ann Douglas Author; Past President, Professional Writers Association of Canada; former writing instructor, Trent University and Fleming College

Trevor Ferguson Author; Instructor at Concordia University

Nancy Flight Associate Publisher, Douglas & McIntyre; Secretary, Association of Canadian Publishers

Bill Freeman Author; former Professor at McMaster University, Vanier College, York University, and Centennial College

Annie Gibson Publisher, Playwrights Canada Press; Council member, Association of Canadian Publishers

Graeme Gibson Author; former Instructor at Ryerson University

Wayne Grady Author; Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia

Gordon Graham Writer; Past President, Professional Writers Association of Canada

Karen Green Chair, Literary Press Group of Canada

Barry Grills Author; former or current Instructor at Confederation College, Canadore College, and College Boreal

Tanya Gulliver Author; Past President, Professional Writers Association of Canada, Instructor, Ryerson University

Kevin Hanson President, Canadian Publishers' Council

Greg Hollingshead Author; Professor Emeritus at the University of Alberta

Kirk Howard President, Dundurn; Past President, Association of Canadian Publishers

Bill Harnum Publisher, Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies; Vice President and Past President, Association of Canadian Publishers

Penney Kome Author; Past Chair, The Writers' Union of Canada

Myrna Kostash Author; Writer in Residence at the University of Alberta; Professor at the University of Regina

Karen Krossing President, CANSCAIP (Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators and Performers)

Paul Ledoux Advocacy Chair, PGC

Kathe Lieber Writer; Past President, Professional Writers Association of Canada

Janet Lunn Author

Amela Marin Author

Susan McIntosh Vice President, McGill-Queen's University Press; Council member, Association of Canadian Publishers

Dr Gerry McIntyre Executive Director, Canadian Educational Resources Council

Susan McMaster President, League of Canadian Poets

Christopher Moore Author, Past Chair, The Writers' Union of Canada

Susan Musgrave Author; current or former Instructor at the University of British Columbia, the University of Victoria, the University of Northern British Columbia, and the University of Waterloo

Erna Paris Author, Past Chair, The Writers' Union of Canada

Anna Porter Publisher and Author; Past President, Association of Canadian Publishers

Elyne Quan President, Playwrights Guild of Canada

Susan Renouf Past President, Association of Canadian Publishers

Jason Riley Treasurer, Canadian Publishers' Council

Rebecca Rose Publisher, Breakwater Books; Council member, Association of Canadian Publishers

Stuart Ross Author, former Writer in Residence at Queen's University

Andreas Schroeder Author; Instructor and Rogers Communications Chair in Creative Nonfiction at the University of British Columbia

Maggie Siggins Author; former Max Bell Chair on Journalism at the University of Regina; former Southam Fellow at Massey College, University of Toronto

Craig Silverman Writer; Past President, Professional Writers Association of Canada

Merilyn Simonds Author; Chair of The Writers' Union of Canada; Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia

Adam Sol Poet; professor at Laurentian University

David Lewis Stein Author; former Instructor at the University of Toronto

David Swail Past President, Canadian Publishers' Council

Susan Swan Author; Tenured Professor at York University

Audrey Thomas Author; former Instructor or Writer in Residence at Concordia University, the University of Ottawa, Simon Fraser University, the Universities of British Columbia, Toronto, and Victoria

Rodger Touchie Publisher, Heritage House; Past President, Association of Canadian Publishers

Bob Tyrrell President, Orca Book Publishers; Council member, Association of Canadian Publishers

Fred Wah Parliamentary Poet Laureate; Author; Professor Emeritus at the University of Calgary

Rudy Wiebe Author; former Professor at the University of Alberta, the University of Calgary, Regent College, and the Vancouver Canadian Mennonite University

Alana Wilcox Senior Editor, Coach House Press; Council member, Association of Canadian Publishers

Matt Williams Vice President, House of Anansi/Groundwood; Council member, Association of Canadian Publishers

Dave Williamson Author; former Dean of Business and Applied Arts at Red River College; past President of the Association of Canadian Schools of Business

Margie Wolfe Publisher, Second Story Press; President, Association of Canadian Publishers

The organizational coalition partners are:

Association of Canadian Publishers

The Writers' Union of Canada

Canadian Publishers' Council

Professional Writers Association of Canada

Canadian Educational Resources Council

Literary Press Group of Canada

Playwrights Guild of Canada

Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators and Performers

League of Canadian Poets

About John Degen


John Degen has professional freelance writer for more than twenty years, as a poet, novelist and critic. His 2006 novel, The Uninvited Guest, was shortlisted for Amazon.ca's First Novel Award. He currently works for the Ontario government, administering grant support to the province's literary book publishers, cultural magazines, writers and literary festival producers. He speaks and writes regularly about copyright issues related to writing and publishing.

© Copyright 2012 John Degen, All rights Reserved. Written For: StraightGoods.ca
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