After several months of discussions in good faith by both parties, Western University has been unable to reach a new agreement with Access Copyright.
Western gave Access Copyright notice in June that the university did not wish to renew the existing agreement on its current terms, but would be prepared to discuss renewal at a substantially lower royalty rate that takes into account the changing copyright landscape and fairly values the service that Access Copyright provides.
During the term of the current agreement, a new federal Copyright Modernization Act was passed into law in 2012 and the Supreme Court of Canada also issued rulings that have altered the landscape considerably with respect to fair dealing and the use of published materials for education and other purposes without seeking permission of the copyright holder or paying a royalty.
As a satisfactory agreement could not be reached with Access Copyright, the university is preparing for the expiry of the current agreement on Dec. 31.
The university is providing a combination of education, information resources and services designed to ensure that members of the Western community can make informed decisions when using the published work of others in research and teaching and have a clear sense of their user rights and obligations under the Copyright Act, while at the same time ensuring that copyright-holders’ rights to grant permission and receive compensation are appropriately respected.
Further information can be found at copyright.uwo.ca.