Copyright Board Postpones Access Copyright Post-Secondary Hearing Sine Die (Indefinitely to a a date to be determined)

Here's an important notice from the Copyright Board postponing the Access Copyright Board hearing sine die (indefinitely, to some later date to be determined). Here is also a list of the questions issued today (January 17, 2014) that the Board is posing to AC in these circumstances. 

Moreover, "depending on whether the additional evidence filed by Access in respect of the University of Toronto is included in the file or not, the Board may well have additional questions to which Access could probably not respond before the scheduled starting date."

Comment will follow. However, in the meantime, this very unusual development  and the content of the notice makes it clear that the Board is reacting to the fact that this is now a default hearing.

HPK

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NOTICE OF THE BOARD

Access is asked to supply as soon as possible all raw data, in Excel format, used to generate the report it filed as Exhibit AC-5 (Analysis of the Volume and Nature of the Copying of Published Works Documented in the Post-Secondary Coursepack Data Delivered to Access Copyright between 2005 and 2012).

Access is also asked to respond to the attached Board’s questions no later than Friday, February 28, 2014. Mr. Maguire should inform the Board no later than Monday, March 3, 2014, whether he wishes to provide a response to Access’ answers and provide the Board with an estimate of the time needed to provide such response.

The nature of the questions addressed by the Board are such that Access cannot realistically provide full answers before the start of the hearing currently scheduled for February 12, 2014. In addition, depending on whether the additional evidence filed by Access in respect of the University of Toronto is included in the file or not, the Board may well have additional questions to which Access could probably not respond before the scheduled starting date. Furthermore, the staff is also currently analysing the legal issues at stake in this file, which will likely lead to a number of legal questions to Access.

Finally, the withdrawal of CAUT and CFS as well as Mr. Katz implies that the Board staff needs to play a more active role in the file.

For these reasons, and because of the additional drain on Board’s resources this implies, the Board postpones sine die the hearing in this matter. After having received and analysed all answers from Access, and replies from Mr. Maguire, the Board will either decide when to reschedule the hearing or proceed on paper.

Gilles McDougallSecretary General | Secrétaire général
Copyright Board of Canada | Commission du droit d'auteur du Canada56 Sparks, Suite| Bureau 800Ottawa ON K1A 0C9Telephone | Téléphone 613.952.8624Gilles.mcdougall@cb-cda.gc.ca