Access Copyright proposes costly new licencing scheme

In a recent article for the Toronto Star Michael Geist reported that Access Copyright is proposing a new licencing scheme to cover copying and course packs at post secondary institutions. Access Copyright is a copyright collective licences copying and course packs across the country. The proposal would see the fee set at $45 per university student, which represents a substantial increase over current fees. Geist finds the proposal surprising considering “the myriad of ways teachers and students access materials that fall outside the Access Copyright licence” and wonders if the proposal will cause universities to forget the collective altogether and consider individually licenced materials where needed.