The Access Copyright Proposed Post-Secondary Tariff Proceeding Proceeds at the Copyright Board

Even before the October 1, 2012 deadline that the Board had set to hear from the “opt-out” universities – whose association, the AUCC, abruptly withdrew from the hearing on April 24, 2012 and left them without representation - the Board has gone ahead and set the schedule for the remainder of this hearing. Here's the Board's order from less than one hour ago:

From: "Gilles.McDougall@cb-cda.gc.ca" <Gilles.McDougall@cb-cda.gc.ca>
Date: Thursday, 27 September, 2012 2:07 PM
To: Ariel Katz <ariel.katz@utoronto.ca>, "Randall.hofley@blakes.com" <Randall.hofley@blakes.com>, "Nancy.Brooks@blakes.com" <Nancy.Brooks@blakes.com>, "aoneill@fasken.com" <aoneill@fasken.com>, "wanda.noel@bell.net" <wanda.noel@bell.net>, "Gbloom@osler.com" <Gbloom@osler.com>, "gov@CASA.ca" <gov@CASA.ca>, David Fewer <dfewer@uottawa.ca>, "athomas@fasken.com" <athomas@fasken.com>, "smagu039@uottawa.ca" <smagu039@uottawa.ca>, "jordan.snel@bell.net" <jordan.snel@bell.net>, "BFong@osler.com" <BFong@osler.com>, "MKlee@osler.com" <MKlee@osler.com>, "wanda.noel@sympatico.ca" <wanda.noel@sympatico.ca>
Subject: Access Copyright - Post-Secondary Educational Institutions Tariff 2011-2013 - Hearing Schedule

RULING OF THE BOARD

The schedule in the above-referenced proceedings shall be as follows:

Filing, with the Board, of replies to objections to interrogatories in abeyance: no later than Friday, September 28, 2012

[Board Ruling]

Responses to interrogatories in abeyance: no later than Friday, December 21, 2012

Motions re: incomplete/unsatisfactory responses to interrogatories in abeyance: no later than Friday, February 8, 2013

Filing, with the Board, of replies to motions: no later than Friday, March 1, 2013

[Board Ruling]

Complete/satisfactory responses to interrogatories in abeyance: no later than Friday, April 26, 2013

Filing of Access’ Case: no later than Friday, September 6, 2013

Filing of Objectors' Case: no later than Friday, December 20, 2013

Filing of Access’ Reply: no later than Monday, January 27, 2014

Beginning of hearing: Tuesday, February 11, 2014 at 10:00 a.m., Copyright Board's hearing room.

Access Copyright is granted 7 weeks to prepare deficiency complaints. ACCC is granted 3 weeks to respond. Access proposed 8+2 weeks. ACCC proposed 6+4 weeks. Access needs more time to analyze all responses than ACCC to respond to deficiency complaints. The Board’s original schedule proposed 7+3. That is what the Board adopts.

Access is granted 18 weeks from the date set to provide full responses to the interrogatories in abeyance to file its case. ACCC is granted 16 weeks from the time Access will file its case to file its response. Access proposed 20+14 weeks, ACCC 17+17 weeks. Access can start its case preparation with the information it already has. However, the time allotted to Access should be longer if only because it includes the Summer.

The period between the filing of the reply of Access and the beginning of the hearing shall be 2 weeks, not 10 days as Access proposed or 17 days as proposed by ACCC. This should be sufficient to account for the Christmas season.

The indulgence requested by counsel for Access in her letter of September 21 is denied. Accordingly, the section of that letter dealing with the schedule leading up to the hearing is struck from the record.

Gilles McDougall
Secretary General | Secrétaire général
Copyright Board of Canada | Commission du droit d'auteur du Canada
56 Sparks, Suite| Bureau 800
Ottawa ON K1A 0C9
Telephone | Téléphone 613.952.8624Gilles.mcdougall@cb-cda.gc.ca