11:20 a.m.
Hello all,
As I mentioned during our last meeting, I approached CPSLD (the association representing
post-secondary library directors in B.C.) in February about collaborating with BCOEL on
copyright advocacy efforts. Last week CPSLD confirmed that they were keen to jointly
author a submission regarding implementation of the copyright term extension.
Under CUSMA (the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement, or 'new NAFTA') the term of copyright
in Canada will be extended from life of the creator +50 years, to life +70. This will have
a great impact on open educational practice, and higher education more broadly. The
government gave stakeholders just one month to submit comments on how the extension should
be implemented. The due date for submissions is tomorrow, March 12. The educational sector
asked for an extension, but the request was denied by the departments leading the
consultation process, Heritage Canada and Innovation, Science and Economic Development
Canada (ISED).
Over the past week, I worked with Darcye to draft the CPSLD/BCOEL submission. It received
approval from Trish Rosseel, CPSLD Chair and Director, Learning Resources & Records
Management at Douglas College, and one of the association's members who works closely
with copyright. It's now with the general CPSLD membership for further comment.
We'd also like to invite members of the BCOEL Steering Committee to review the draft
and provide feedback (by noon tomorrow, if possible). Please feel free to insert your
comments directly in the Google
Doc<https://docs.google.com/document/d/110lw-5xu99Jju6vOl7HeUWKgZofsicln…ng>.
We apologize for the quick turnaround, but there were lots of moving parts. The process
has been very collaborative, with lots of information sharing and fruitful discussion
amongst PSI copyright specialists, higher ed administrators, and professional associations
representing PSIs and libraries. In particular, there was debate about whether an 'opt
in' registration system for the additional 20 years of copyright protection is
feasible in the context of Canada's obligations under various international copyright
treaties.
The approach we ultimately suggested aligns with College and Institutes Canada (CICan) and
has been endorsed by a number of legal experts/scholars in Canada, including Michael
Geist, Howard Knopf, and Meera Nair. A similar model was also proposed the by former
Director of the U.S. Copyright Office back in 2013.
We look forward to hearing your thoughts!
Sincerely,
Darcye and Lindsay
Lindsay Tripp
Copyright Librarian
Langara Library
604.323.5290
100 West 49th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V5Y 2Z6
Unceded Musqueam Territory
[Langara Logo]<https://langara.ca/>
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