UofT Students and Faculty Demand Suspending the Access Copyright Agreement

Posted on Feb 16, 2012 | 5 comments The University of Toronto Students’ Union, the University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union, and the University of Toronto Faculty Association have just sent a letter to the University Governing Council protesting the UofT – Access Copyright Agreement. They urge the Governors to “suspend any further step towards ratification of the Agreement until the Agreement has been...
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EU Court of Justice Rules Out Private and Automatic Censorship (and Lessons for UofT)

Posted on Feb 16, 2012 | 0 comments The European Court of Justice rendered another decision today protecting users’ online freedoms.  The decision in SABAM v. Netlog arises out of a dispute between a Belgian copyright collective and an operator of a social network.  This is an important ruling when legislators around the world consider various initiative that would grant governments and private entities increasing powers to...
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Governance Issues: The UofT-Access Copyright Agreement

Posted on Feb 12, 2012 | 1 comment In addition to serious copyright, privacy, and academic freedom problems arising from the Agreement signed last week between UofT and Access Copyright, the way it has been handled so far raises some questions about whether it is consistent with UofT’s governance procedures. No serious consultation or discussion has taken place before the Agreement was signed, although, interestingly, s. 22 of...
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Universities and Copyright: Contrast and Compare

Posted on Feb 1, 2012 | 0 comments On Monday evening, Access Copyright and the Universities of Western Ontario and Toronto announced that they have entered into a new licensing deal.  The UofT agreement is available below, and I was told that the terms of the agreement with Western are identical. Although the joint media release announcing the deal was gleeful, as a UofT Faculty member I am disappointed and concerned.  The...
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