Copibec and Université Laval resolve their legal dispute over copyright


Copibec and Université Laval resolve their legal dispute over copyright

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Copibec and Université Laval resolve their legal dispute over copyright

Quebec City, November 13, 2018 – Copibec and Université Laval are pleased to announce that their out-of-court settlement agreement was approved by Justice Simon Hébert of the Quebec Superior Courtand that Université Laval has signed the comprehensive licence agreement applicable to Quebec universities.

The Court’s approval of the settlement has now put an end to the legal dispute between the two parties concerning copyright royalty management for the university’s teaching and research activities. Both parties are looking forward to once again working collaboratively for the benefit of authors, publishers, teaching personnel and students.

Université Laval places great importance on complying with the Copyright Act, optimizing the use of third-party content and recognizing the work done by creators and the cultural sector. It has made a sincere, serious commitment to respecting authors’ rights, acknowledging that collective licensing provides a framework that creates a balance between the needs of its users as well as authors and publishers.

In addition to signing on to the Copibec licence agreement, Université Laval intends to maintain its copyright office (Bureau du droit d’auteur) which is responsible for supporting all personnel and the student community in applying the Copyright Act to teaching, learning and scholarly communication activities.

The university will also continue its campaigns to raise awareness about the importance of copyright compliance in the university community.

Copibec and Université Laval are pleased that their dispute has been resolved through a solution that meets the needs of the university community and respects the right of copyright owners to receive fair compensation for the use of their content.

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About Copibec
Copibec, whose official name is the Société québécoise de gestion collective des droits de reproduction, is a not-for-profit organization created in 1997 by the Union des écrivaines et écrivains québécois (UNEQ) and the Association nationale des éditeurs de livres (ANEL) to manage the reproduction rights for content published in print and digital formats. It has the authority to manage the reproduction rights for thousands of Quebec authors and publishers as well as the authors and publishers represented by reproduction rights organizations in 33 countries, including the United States, France and Belgium.

About Université Laval
Driven by a spirit of innovation and research excellence, Université Laval is one of Canada's leading research universities, ranking 6th with $377 million in research funding last year. It has 3,730 professors, lecturers and other members of its teaching and research staff who share their knowledge with more than 43,000 students, including 25% at the graduate level. As the oldest French-language university in North America, Université Laval has educated over 300,000 people who, each in their own way, are helping societies make progress. www.ulaval.ca

Sources:

Copibec
Caroline Lacroix 
Director, Communications and Rightsholder Services 
514-288-1664 ext. 242
[email protected]

Université Laval
Andrée-Anne Stewart
Media Relations 
Direction des communications
418-254-3141
[email protected]