Dr. David Wardlaw, provost and vice president (academic) announced today that Memorial University will not be signing the model licence agreement negotiated between the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) and Access Copyright. Interestingly he said it was “After considerable analysis of the pros and cons of such an agreement, extensive input from individuals and groups on campus as well as from provincial and national organizations.” The NLLA is one of the many groups who had voiced concerns about the proposed model licence.
Memorial University should be commended for setting this example and rejecting an agreement which did not balance the rights of users with the rights of publishers and creators and which placed unreasonable restrictions on access to information. They join 9 other academic institutions (UPDATE, July 11: There are now 15!) who are also not signing.
Read the full news release here: http://today.mun.ca/news.php?news_id=7462
Thank you Crystal and the NLLA for all the work you did on this issue!