Copyright amendments likely to impact students

CFS starts letter campaign

Magally Zelaya, Staff

The Canadian Federation of Students has joined other lobby groups in protesting new copyright legislation expected to be introduced when the House of Commons reconvenes on Jan. 28.

New copyright legislation has been the subject of controversy in recent months, and the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), which represents students from more than 80 universities, including the U of M, believes that the expected changes may have great impacts on university life.

“In students’ day-to-day life, we end up using copyright almost every day and end up creating copyright similarly frequently,” said Ben Lewis, national treasurer of CFS. “So the rules that govern that are vitally important to our education.”

In an open letter to Prime Minister Harper and Jim Prentice, minister of industry responsible for copyright, the Manitoba branch of CFS wrote, “The changes that are being suggested to the copyright act will not apply the same fair use rules for digital media that students and faculty currently enjoy.”

“This will mean fewer publications available to students and higher costs for material for courses,” wrote CFS.

Course pack costs have been rising in turn with the rising copyright fees. At the U of M Bookstore, the manager, Sharon Pearce, said the copyright fee per page for a course pack has gone up to 10 cents from 3.5 cents over the last decade due to the costs incurred by the university’s copyright licensing agency, Access, in the administration of royalties and copyright fees.

Pearce expects the cost to stay the same for the next couple of years but noted that if copyright legislation becomes tighter there is the possibility that the per page fee would could continue to rise.

Along with other lobby groups and the general public, CFS has been concerned that the new copyright bill will not address the needs of the Canadian public and instead will be a “Canadian version of the American Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA),” as Lewis put it.

The DMCA has been called an “extremely strict approach,” by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada.

Further uses that could be affected by legislation modeled after the DMCA include “printing online journal articles for classes or assignments” and “using Internet content in a Powerpoint presentation,” according to the Manitoba CFS branch’s letter.

CFS will launch a campaign in the second week of January that will include a letter similar to that one drafted by the Manitoba branch in an attempt to address students’ needs.

As well, the national branch is compiling a package that includes eight recommendations they plan to put forth to the government for copyright reform.

One recommendation that CFS is calling for is the clarification of fair dealing.

Currently, copyrighted information can be used by students and professors under the designation of fair dealing.

Fair dealing provides provisions for those wishing to engage with copyrighted matter for personal or educational use as long as there is no explicit intent to infringe on the Copyright Act. Such provisions include the creation of personal backups of materials such as CDs as long it is intended only for personal use.

Lewis said CFS would like to see “more inclusive flexible fair dealing legislation” instead of an “exhaustive list.”

Such legislation would allow for certain activities that are already legal in the US to become legal in Canada, such as parody and time-shifting devices like TiVo.

Among the other recommendations, CFS is also calling for the elimination of crown copyright.

“In Canada anything created by the government is covered by crown copyright so you’re in fact paying for something twice: you’re paying for it through tax dollars and you can’t even use it without paying again, and sometimes you’re not even allowed to use it,” said Lewis.

In addition to the letter writing campaign, CFS is calling for student support in other ways. Lewis said, “We’re encouraging our members to get involved on Facebook.”

A Fair Copyright in Canada Facebook group started by Micheal Geist, the Canada research chair of Internet and e-commerce law at the University of Ottawa, had 36, 774 members at the time of print. Lewis surmised that the “online uprising” may have been partially responsible for the delay in the introduction of the bill in December 2007.

CFS RECOMMENDATIONS

Clarify the inclusive nature of fair dealing.
Limits digital rights management and technical protection measures only to infringing activities.
Unlike the United States, Canadian Internet service providers should not be given the authority to decide the legality of online content.
Elimination of punitive fines for good-faith fair dealing.
Protect copyright users legal rights.
No extensions to length of copyright terms, which currently stands at the life of the creator plus 50 years after death.
Elimination of crown copyright.
An educational sector exception is not necessary (as recommended by the Canadian Association of University Teachers) and would only increase the complexity and reduce the equality of copyright law.





Volume 95 Issue 17	The Official University of Manitoba Students' Newspaper Website	January 09, 2008

Home About Us Advertising Rates Contact Staff Current Issue PDF Employment Letters to the Editor Meet the Staff Online Archives Volunteer Online Classifieds St. Vincent's Academy Diaries	Font Size Respond Email Print-Friendly Copyright amendments likely to impact students CFS starts letter campaign Magally Zelaya, Staff The Canadian Federation of Students has joined other lobby groups in protesting new copyright legislation expected to be introduced when the House of Commons reconvenes on Jan. 28. New copyright legislation has been the subject of controversy in recent months, and the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), which represents students from more than 80 universities, including the U of M, believes that the expected changes may have great impacts on university life. “In students’ day-to-day life, we end up using copyright almost every day and end up creating copyright similarly frequently,” said Ben Lewis, national treasurer of CFS. “So the rules that govern that are vitally important to our education.” In an open letter to Prime Minister Harper and Jim Prentice, minister of industry responsible for copyright, the Manitoba branch of CFS wrote, “The changes that are being suggested to the copyright act will not apply the same fair use rules for digital media that students and faculty currently enjoy.” “This will mean fewer publications available to students and higher costs for material for courses,” wrote CFS. Course pack costs have been rising in turn with the rising copyright fees. At the U of M Bookstore, the manager, Sharon Pearce, said the copyright fee per page for a course pack has gone up to 10 cents from 3.5 cents over the last decade due to the costs incurred by the university’s copyright licensing agency, Access, in the administration of royalties and copyright fees. Pearce expects the cost to stay the same for the next couple of years but noted that if copyright legislation becomes tighter there is the possibility that the per page fee would could continue to rise. Along with other lobby groups and the general public, CFS has been concerned that the new copyright bill will not address the needs of the Canadian public and instead will be a “Canadian version of the American Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA),” as Lewis put it. The DMCA has been called an “extremely strict approach,” by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada. Further uses that could be affected by legislation modeled after the DMCA include “printing online journal articles for classes or assignments” and “using Internet content in a Powerpoint presentation,” according to the Manitoba CFS branch’s letter. CFS will launch a campaign in the second week of January that will include a letter similar to that one drafted by the Manitoba branch in an attempt to address students’ needs. As well, the national branch is compiling a package that includes eight recommendations they plan to put forth to the government for copyright reform. One recommendation that CFS is calling for is the clarification of fair dealing. Currently, copyrighted information can be used by students and professors under the designation of fair dealing. Fair dealing provides provisions for those wishing to engage with copyrighted matter for personal or educational use as long as there is no explicit intent to infringe on the Copyright Act. Such provisions include the creation of personal backups of materials such as CDs as long it is intended only for personal use. Lewis said CFS would like to see “more inclusive flexible fair dealing legislation” instead of an “exhaustive list.” Such legislation would allow for certain activities that are already legal in the US to become legal in Canada, such as parody and time-shifting devices like TiVo. Among the other recommendations, CFS is also calling for the elimination of crown copyright. “In Canada anything created by the government is covered by crown copyright so you’re in fact paying for something twice: you’re paying for it through tax dollars and you can’t even use it without paying again, and sometimes you’re not even allowed to use it,” said Lewis. In addition to the letter writing campaign, CFS is calling for student support in other ways. Lewis said, “We’re encouraging our members to get involved on Facebook.” A Fair Copyright in Canada Facebook group started by Micheal Geist, the Canada research chair of Internet and e-commerce law at the University of Ottawa, had 36, 774 members at the time of print. Lewis surmised that the “online uprising” may have been partially responsible for the delay in the introduction of the bill in December 2007. CFS RECOMMENDATIONS Clarify the inclusive nature of fair dealing. Limits digital rights management and technical protection measures only to infringing activities. Unlike the United States, Canadian Internet service providers should not be given the authority to decide the legality of online content. Elimination of punitive fines for good-faith fair dealing. Protect copyright users legal rights. No extensions to length of copyright terms, which currently stands at the life of the creator plus 50 years after death. Elimination of crown copyright. An educational sector exception is not necessary (as recommended by the Canadian Association of University Teachers) and would only increase the complexity and reduce the equality of copyright law.


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