School Budgets Shrink While Writers Get More Coffee Money

This just in from the grand people at Access Copyright. These people are so happy that they can get money from Canadian schools for photocopied pages.

Toronto - July 26, 2010 - Canadian creators and educational publishers have won a six-year legal battle to receive reasonable compensation for the reproduction of copyright-protected teaching materials used in the classroom, according to a decision by the Federal Court of Appeal. In 2009, the Copyright Board of Canada certified a tariff to compensate creators and publishers for the photocopying of their works in K - 12 Schools. Ministers of Education of all the provinces and territories with the exception of Quebec, along with close to a hundred individual school boards, had asked the Federal Court to review the decision. However the Federal Court found that the Copyright Board's decision was reasonable in light of the evidence before it. The Board had heard that over 250-million pages of textbooks and other materials are copied for use in K-12 schools every year. "This is an important decision for rights holders not just in the education sector, but in every field of creative endeavour," said Maureen Cavan, Executive Director, Access Copyright. "The decision is bitter-sweet when you consider that the federal government's proposed changes to the Copyright Act could impair future compensation for reproduction of materials used in education," said Roanie Levy, General Counsel, Access Copyright. What's being photocopied today by the primary, secondary and post-secondary education sector is the equivalent of 3 million books a year. "That's 3 million books that have not been sold. As long as reproduction is compensated, creators and publishers and the thousands of knowledge workers supported by this industry can survive. Take away the compensation, and you will jeopardize a Canadian industry that provides Canadian children and their teachers with Canadian content," Cavan added. Access Copyright, The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency, is a not-for-profit organization founded by Canadian creators and publishers to meet the needs of users of copyright protected works, while ensuring fair compensation for that use. Access Copyright represents nearly 9,000 Canadian writers and publishers. Access Copyright works with organizations in all sectors to help them operate legally by providing access to licences that allow for the legitimate use of published copyright protected materials. To learn more about copyright or Access Copyright visit us online by clicking here.