Access Copyright And The Education Sector – Background, Context And What's Next

As reported in University Affairs on September 7, 2021 (link  here) and by the writers  here, the dispute between Access Copyright and York University ended with a unanimous and unequivocal decision of the Supreme Court of Canada. The SCC ruled that copyright tariffs approved by the Copyright Board cannot be foisted on unwilling customers, such as universities, colleges, and school boards (i.e. tariffs are not mandatory). In addition, the Court ruled that York's fair dealing guidelines (which are similar to those in place at institutions across Canada) must be analyzed from both the perspective of the institution and the ultimate user (i.e. the students for whom the copies are made) – thus rejecting the lower courts' conclusions that these guidelines are unfair.