Universities and Copyright Collecting Societies

INTRODUCTION George Bernard Shaw wrote – ‘when a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed 1 of, he always declares that it is his duty. ’ Years earlier La Rochefoucauld noted, ‘hypocrisy is the homage vice pays to virtue. ’ But whether stupid or wise, men are not just hypocritical; they are often honestly unsure where their duty lies. This is one of the main reasons for the creation of rules and exceptions to these rules. This book looks at the law of copyright, exceptions to copyright, which apply to Higher Education Institutions (hereinafter HEIs) and the position of the academic author in relation to the reward or incentive system. As such, the book further considers whether academic authors within HEIs are fairly remunerated for their academic contri- tions by the system of copyright collecting societies; and if not, whether alternative models exist to remunerate the academic author fairly. 2 HEIs include universities and other institutions such as colleges and vocational institutions, which award academic degrees including diplomas. This book will focus solely on the university sector of HEIs in the UK. In exploring the two broad subject areas of HEIs and Copyright Collecting Societies, a large variety of issues can be isolated for specific consideration.