Because Paying the Creator Matters

The Access Copyright Elementary and Secondary Schools Tariff provides educators and other staff members with permission to copy from millions of published works to inspire and spark classroom learning. It is a simple and cost-effective alternative to laborious work-by-work direct licensing and also recognizes the effort of creators and offers them fair compensation for the use of their works.

Elementary and secondary schools in Quebec are covered through Copibec’s licence. Access Copyright is in a long-running dispute with Ministries of Education in other provinces and territories, as well as Ontario school boards, who have participated fully in tariff-setting proceedings for many years yet continue to refuse to pay the Access Copyright Elementary and Secondary Schools Tariff. Access Copyright is in separate discussions with the Ministry of Education in British Columbia to seek the resumption of payments under the Tariff. Educators and other staff members in that province can contact the Ministry to better understand their obligations with respect to copyright.

Your school’s Access Copyright licence

Your school’s Access Copyright licence gives educators and staff members access to millions of published works to inspire and spark classroom learning.

Thanks to information collected during copying surveys from randomly selected elementary and secondary schools, Access Copyright distributes the royalties that schools pay to the specific creators and publishers whose works have been reported copied in K-12 schools.

Under your school’s licence, you can:

Copy up to 10% of a published work in Access Copyright’s repertoire, or any of the following:

One chapter, as long as it isn’t more than 20% of the entire book;
A complete newspaper article or page;
A single short story, play, article, poem or essay from a work that contains other works such as an anthology;
An entry from a reference work like a dictionary; or
A reproduction of an artistic work from a work that contains other works.

Please ensure:

Whenever possible, that the source and author’s name are included on at least one page of the copy; and
That you limit the number of copies to one per student, two for the teacher and a reasonable amount required for administrative purposes, to contact parents or to allow on-site consultation or loan at a library.

Please do not:

Make course packs
Intentionally split copying portions to exceed the licence limits
Sell copies or use them for merchandising, advertising or commercial purposes
Alter or distort the work

Access Copyright is here to help. If you have any questions, please call 1-800-893-5777 or email info@accesscopyright.ca.