Should copyright law lock down music and literature to protect the financial interests of rights-holders? Or should it promote broad access to, and use of, intellectual goods? These questions are at the core of the growing public debate over the need for fair and balanced copyright law, a debate that college and university students have a critical stake in. As creators and owners of copyright material (essays, articles, theses and multi-media productions), students need to protect their work from unjust appropriation. But to study, research, write and create new knowledge, students also need ready access, at a reasonable cost, to the copyrighted works of others. This tri-part perspective—of use, creation and ownership of copyright—gives students special credibility in the struggle for fair and balanced copyright law.

Copyright

Intellectual property is a legal concept governing the ownership and use of goods created by intellectual labour. Copyright is the intellectual property sub-category that protects expressive “works”, including literary, dramatic, artistic and musical creations. The Canadian Copyright Act gives copyright owners a bundle of economic rights (including the rights to publish, reproduce, exhibit or perform a work) and to creators a series of moral rights (including rights to protect the integrity of a work, to be associated or not associated with a work, and to preserve an author’s honour and reputation in relation to a work). Copyright is infringed when someone, without the consent of the copyright owner, does something with a work that only the owner of the work has the right to do. People found liable for infringing an owner’s copyright are subject to a variety of financial penalties. The Act protects the public interest by limiting the duration of the copyright term (generally to the life of the author plus fifty years, after which the work enters the public domain), allowing certain exceptions to what would otherwise be infringement (for example, permitting the transfer of copyrighted works to formats accessible to visually impaired persons) and through fair dealing (the right to use works without permission in various circumstances).