Literary Press Group calls for immediate government action to repair copyright framework, ensure that Access Copyright can continue to protect the rights of creators and publishers

Fair dealing fix is urgently needed to stop massive uncompensated copying in educational settings

Toronto—July 13, 2023: The Literary Press Group (LPG) joins Access Copyright and organizations representing creators and publishers across the country in calling on the federal government to fix copyright and ensure that Access Copyright can continue to protect the rights of creators and publishers. The government has promised to repair the broken copyright framework, most recently in Budget 2022. The Copyright Act must be amended so that, at a minimum, fair dealing for education only applies when a work is not commercially available under licence by the owner or a collective.

The profound harms to Canadian publishers and creators (writers and illustrators) flowing from the education sector’s overly broad interpretation of fair dealing are well known. An estimated $200 million in licensing revenue, and untold additional revenue from book sales, has been lost since 2012’s legislative changes created uncertainty and an opening for abusive practices—massive, systemic, uncompensated copying.

Today, Access Copyright, the organization that publishers and creators rely on for collective administration of licensing revenue from the use of copyright-protected material, has announced that it will be forced to significantly downsize and restructure by the end of 2023, without urgently needed copyright reform.

“Literary publishers rely on Access Copyright to play a crucial role in ensuring that the use of their creative works in educational and other settings is fairly compensated,” said Laura Rock Gaughan, the LPG’s executive director. “We already have a collective solution, which is now at risk of being lost, if the government does not act.”

About the LPG

Founded in 1975, the LPG is a nonprofit association that represents 64 Canadian- owned and -operated literary book publishers and supports them with collective marketing, professional development, and advocacy. Our members produce books by some of Canada’s most innovative and creative writers, giving readers access to diverse voices that have not been well represented in mainstream publishing.