ABC Copyright 2025

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10222/85059

The ABC Copyright group is a grassroots organization made up of individuals involved in the day-to-day aspects of copyright and its implications for their respective organizations. Athabasca University was one of the founding institutions in 2002 and runs and maintains the group’s ABC Copyright listserv. The ABC Copyright group has over 380 members comprised mostly of copyright administrators at post-secondary institutions across Canada. Copyright offices, libraries, bookstores, instructional technologies, distance learning, legal offices, and audio/visual units are among the areas represented from these institutions. The general purpose of the group is to share ideas, issues and concerns, potential solutions, and resources through annual conferences and the listserv. The 2025 ABC Copyright Conference took place online via Zoom on April 29 and 30, 2025. The conference received administrative support from the Canadian Association of Research Libraries-Association des bibliothèques de recherche du Canada (CARL-ABRC) and The Council of Atlantic Academic Libraries - Conseil des bibliothèques postsecondaires de l’Atlantique (CAAL-CBPA) Copyright Committee (https://caul-cbua.ca/committee/copyright-committee) and the planning team consisted of ABC members from across Canada. The conference theme was "Balancing Act: Copyright Past, Present, and Future."

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Now showing 1 - 9 of 9

Open Access
To “Actualize” Users’ Fair Dealing Rights: Guidelines If Necessary But Not Necessarily Guidelines
(2025-04-30) Knopf, Howard
Howard Knopf will examine the Court’s rulings on fair dealing, the statute, and the role of guidelines in Canada’s post-secondary institutions.
Open Access
ABC Copyright 2025 unAGM Notes
(2025-04-29) Chambers Page, Jaclyn
Notes from the 2025 ABC Copyright unAGM, held online April 29, 2025.
Open Access
Canadian copyright and Canadian sovereignty: rights and relations
(2025-04-29) Bannerman, Sara
Canadian copyright has user rights in its DNA. These rights, and copyright broadly, are tied to a complex web of forces and struggles that have shaped history for people living within Canadian borders and beyond. British imperialism and settler colonialism; tariffs and trade; race, ability and gender relations; struggles for rights and struggles for sovereignty—all have shaped the history of Canadian copyright. This presentation will examine copyright in relation to the broader relations that shape it.
Open Access
Copyright Advocacy Briefing: Strategies for Higher Education
(2025-04-30) Savage, Stephanie; Zerkee, Jennifer
This session will provide an overview of the findings, focusing on messaging that our sector can use to counter misconceptions around library copying practices and outlining our advocacy call to action.
Open Access
The Many Histories of Fair Dealing
(2025-04-30) Martin, Heather; Nair, Meera
Seeking to fill a gap in scholarly literature, the presenters have compiled a detailed account of fair dealing’s development through the twentieth and into the twenty-first century. Three streams of influence exerted on fair dealing are addressed: i) government analyses and statutory changes; (ii) the postsecondary sector’s concerns regarding use of copyright-protected materials; and (iii) judicial decisions having some affinity to educational copying practices. The authors hope this 40+ years of history can contribute to a better understanding of fair dealing and place the exception on more solid ground in the years to come.
Open Access
Reasonable, extensive, exhaustive: Applying for an Unlocatable Owners license from the Copyright Board
(2025-04-29) Zerkee, Jennifer
An SFU instructor contacted the Copyright Office in 2024 about options for using an out-of-print book as a course text. The publisher is long-defunct, and used copies of the book are hard to find and expensive. After searching for current copyright owner information, I decided to apply for an Unlocatable Owners licence from the Copyright Board of Canada. An applicant is required to research the copyright owner of the work, and that research must be “reasonable” but also “extensive” – and eventually “exhaustive.” What does this mean? And did we get the licence? I’ll explore the orphan works problem and the Copyright Board’s process, and walk through the process, including doing the required research, how long the process took, and what the outcome was.
Open Access
Obstacles and Facilitators of Open Scholarship
(2025-04-29) Rothfus, Melissa; MacLeod, Lachlan
In 2022, researchers at Dalhousie University were surveyed to assess their understanding and practice of open scholarship. The survey was designed to answer these primary questions: what are Dalhousie University researchers’ existing practices and levels of knowledge regarding open scholarship, and what is their awareness and perception of institutional support for open practices? This session will discuss the findings of that survey.
Open Access
Overcoming Barriers to Access to Public Domain Heritage: A Global Dialogue Toward Solutions
(2025-04-30) Harris, Dee; Richard, Tanya
This session will first examine the challenges that limit access to cultural heritage in the public domain and the impact that has on people’s enjoyment of and participation in cultural life. Next, the session will introduce the global advocacy efforts of the TAROCH (Toward a Recommendation on Open Cultural Heritage) Coalition, a Creative Commons-led initiative. TAROCH brings together organizations and institutions in international dialogue to address barriers to public domain heritage access. Ultimately, the coalition aims to advance a UNESCO global policy standard that will help guide and empower cultural heritage institutions to open their collections, benefiting society, fostering inclusion, and enriching cultural participation. Finally, the session will demonstrate actionable steps cultural heritage institutions can take now to leverage open licenses, tools, and practices – supported by education, training and other initiatives – to implement open-access practices and share their collections more openly and sustainably. Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of the challenges surrounding public domain access, the role of global advocacy in shaping policy solutions, and practical opportunities to support or participate in collective efforts that advance open-access practices.
Open Access
ABC Copyright 2025 Schedule of Sessions
(2025-04-29) Chambers Page, Jaclyn

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