Mark Swartz is Queen's new copyright specialist.

Queen’s will not renew its Access Copyright license when it expires on August 31. Many universities across the country have announced similar plans to end their relationships with Access Copyright.

The decision not to renew the license was made after Access Copyright proposed a new tariff to the Copyright Board of Canada, the scope and cost of which have raised considerable concern at many universities.

“In addition to the dramatically increased cost, the new tariff poses potential privacy concerns, particularly for faculty members,” says Mark Swartz, the university’s copyright specialist.

To help members of the Queen’s community understand how to comply with copyright law, a Copyright Advisory Office has been established. Mr. Swartz is available to answer questions and assist faculty, researchers, and students in applying copyright legislation and the university’s Copyright at Queen’s policy to their teaching, research and scholarly activities.

“The goal of the office is to make copyright less complicated and provide easy guidelines that will translate to the academic environment,” says Mr. Swartz.

Copying services at The Campus Bookstore and the Publishing and Copy Centre (P&CC) will not change because they operate independent of the university and have their own licenses. Faculty members are encouraged to include in course packs copyrighted materials they would like to distribute to students. They should not hesitate to consult Mr. Swartz about how to prepare their instructional material

“Often, I and other librarians can find a way to use copyrighted materials for instructional purposes in accordance with the law; that may include providing a link to the material or getting permission from copyright holders,” says Mr. Swartz. “Throughout the year, we will be looking at new avenues for helping faculty in preparing their instructional material. The office’s services will continue to grow as we move forward.”

For more information about the Copyright Advisory Office visit the website.