Copyright Tribunal hearing begins
September 9, 2020
The week starting 7 September 2020 was the first of a three-week hearing in Copyright Agency’s action against the 39 universities represented by Universities Australia (UA). This follows months of research and preparation to ensure that we put forward the best possible case for a better measurement system and fair payment for our members.
The hearing is being run fully online with an accompanying livestream. Note that there are times throughout the hearing when the web link may be turned off to allow the Tribunal to hear confidential information.
Both parties have delivered their opening submissions and our CEO Adam Suckling has given evidence. The Tribunal has also heard evidence from Copyright Agency’s witnesses, who are authors, publishers and artists. The universities are now presenting their evidence.
Under the Tribunal’s interim orders, the universities are currently paying $32.5m per annum, with half of this available for distribution to members and half held in escrow until the Tribunal’s final determination.
The university licence covers a vast array of high quality educational material, including millions of pages (digital and hard copy) annually across Australia’s 39 universities, with their 1.4 million students, 60,000 academics and 70,000 professional staff.
That is a huge range and amount of material being copied and communicated. We are firmly prosecuting our case so that the value of our members’ content is properly remunerated.