How much are copyright charges for putting materials on E-Reserve, and who pays?
The cost varies from publisher to publisher-there is no blanket licence with a set fee. Rights owners charge different amounts and calculate fees in different ways, per student or by flat fee. Rarely will publishers grant perpetual rights to a document and the fee will vary depending upon how long the material will be used. If copyright clearance is granted for the duration of the course, whether for a semester or a few years, repeat use of the same document will require another copyright permission and payment. The average copyright fee is between $60-$100 per E-Reserve document, although there are rights holders who do not charge for reproducing and distributing their work. The Library is launching an e-reserve pilot project during the summer of 2004 to put copyrighted materials on E-Reserve. Reserve staff will handle the communication with rights holders and publishers. Should the rights holder charge a fee, the Library will assess the costs relative to the benefit of each reading.
