(Barbados Nation) The University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill Campus is being accused of major copyright infringement that could land the country’s highest institution of learning in court.
The legal action being considered by the Barbados Copyright Agency (B-Copy), and backed by an international organisation, will have serious consequences for students who began classes yesterday, as they could be blocked from the photocopying of course texts.
B-Copy, a non-profit local reprographic rights organisation, says it has been trying since November 2008 to get the university to obtain a licence to reproduce the printed material of local, regional and international authors, in compliance with the Copyright Act, but to no avail.
Chairman Antonio “Boo” Rudder said the agency had been making an effort to avoid the courts and only wanted the Cave Hill Campus to pay for a licence that would cost it about US$8.42 per student per year. That rate is similar to what the Mona Campus pays to the Jamaican Copyright Licensing Agency (JAMCOPY).
