Athabasca University Issues Public Letter to Students on Copyright Consultation

With three weeks left in the copyright consultation, Athabasca University President Frits Pannekoek has issued an open public letter to all students urging them to speak out in the consultation.  The letter expresses concern about a possible reintroduction of C-61-like legislation and its impact on education.  It argues:

any legislation similar to Bill C-61 will have profound negative effects on researchers and educators as well as the general public. There were five substantive issues contained in Bill C-61, which were of concern; anti-circumvention measures, format shifting, contractual overrides of fair dealing, statutory damages, and destruction of content.

The letter urges students to submit their own comments to the consultation as well as contact the Ministers and their local MP.  This is precisely what universities and colleges across the country should be doing - educating their communities about the consultation and the impact of copyright reform, and then urging them to speak out now.