Reactions to university decisions on Access Copyright

Last week, the University of Toronto and the University of Western Ontario (Western) announced they would no longer pay an annual collective royalty fee to creators through Access Copyright, the copyright licensing agency. The creators affected include professional writers and photographers who qualify, based on their published work, to receive annual Payback royalties from Access Copyright.

Here are some links to press releases and articles outlining the news and reactions from various writers' organizations:

PWAC: 
http://www.pwac.ca/files/PDF/UofTandWesternwalkaway.pdf

The Writers' Union of Canada (TWUC):
http://www.writersunion.ca/news/universities-toronto-and-western-ontario-refuse-pay-copies

Access Copyright: http://www.accesscopyright.ca/media/39538/2013_12_11_canadas_writers_and_publishers_disappointed_by_u_of_t_and_westerns_non_renewal_of_licence.pdf

Association of Canadian Publishers: 
http://publishers.ca/images/downloads/ACP-Statement-AC-licences.pdf

Canadian Magazines blog (for reaction and background): http://canadianmags.blogspot.ca/2013/12/u-of-t-and-western-back-out-of-paying.html

What are your views? Please leave a comment.

Access Copyright: Reminder for PWAC Members

It's that time of year again, when we remind PWAC members about Access Copyright, the agency that serves as the Canadian Copyright Licencing Agency.

If you hold the copyright for your published work, i.e., if it's not work-for-hire* with all rights owned by your client), then consider signing with Access.

Even though the Professional Writers Association of Canada is a member organization of Access, individual writers still need to submit their information, including publication credits.

Here's the FAQ blurb from the Access Copyright site:

If I am a member of PWAC (or any other Access Copyright member organization), does that automatically make me an Access Copyright affiliate?
No. Being a member of an Access Copyright member organization does not automatically make you an affiliate. Please click here to learn how to become affiliated with Access Copyright.

Access manages licensing, collection of licensing fees and distribution of royalties on affiliates' behalf, so that we can focus on what we do best — creating.  

Benefits of being an individual Access member include Payback royalties for your published work. Sign up before the end of December, 2013, to to be eligible to enter your publications for the next series of payments in 2014.

1. To learn more about joining Access as a creator, see: http://www.accesscopyright.ca/creators/.
2. To learn more about Payback royalties, see: http://www.accesscopyright.ca/creators/payback-for-writers-and-payback-for-visual-artists
3. And, to join, see: http://www.accesscopyright.ca/creatorregistration.html

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And a note on that sometimes wonderful, sometimes contentious work-for-hire*  thing... This may be fine under many circumstances, especially if the pay is great... But keeping your own copyright to your original, creative work is also a wonderful thing for freelancers to consider. You can learn more about copyright by visiting Accesscopyright.ca and PWAC.ca - or by talking others in your local PWAC chapter.   

-- posted by Shelley Banks