Tainan Reprographics Business Association Authorized to Copy Foreign Textbooks under COLCIA’s management.

On 5 July 2009, Tainan Reprographics Business Association has signed a contract with the Chinese Oral and Literary Copyright Intermediary Association (Taiwan’s only oral and literary copyright intermediary association, hereinafter “COLCIA”) to become an authorized copy center as a legal copy channel for professors and students to copy foreign-language textbooks.

COLCIA has developed a legal copy mechanism for students to copy the section they need at an authorized copy center near campus, as long as the book is among the publications within the authorization of the intermediary agency.  If the number of pages copied does not exceed 20 percent of the book, or one whole chapter, students may have the copy made for a fee.

The fee includes a royalty fee, processing costs and copying charges.  The royalty fee is charged at TWD1 per page.  There are three levels of processing costs: TWD9 for copies made under 50 pages, TWD15 for copies made between 51-200 pages, and TWD30 for copies made over and including 201 pages.

COLCIA indicated that they have signed agreement with copyright collective management of the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan for obtaining authorization to reproduce foreign-language textbooks under these management centers’ care.  In addition, COLCIA is currently negotiating with the Copyright Clearance Center of US, China and Australia respectively for signing agreement.  There are over one million volumes of books at the Copyright Clearance Center of the US, most of the foreign-language textbooks used in Taiwan are among the publications within the authorization of the intermediary agency.

COLCIA has developed a computer identification system which can verify whether the book is among the publications within the authorization of the intermediary agency by scanning at the International Standard Book Number (ISBN).  This system can also automatically deduct the royalty fee then COLCIA will duly transfer the fee to relevant overseas copyright collective management group.

■ A brief introduction to the legal copy mechanism designed by COLCIA are as follows:

◆ Scope of authorization: all textbooks, thesis/dissertation, periodicals, reference  books, most of the auxiliary materials
◆ At present, most of the publications in the UK, Japan and Germany are authorized to be reproduced.
◆ In the process of negotiating with other countries’ and domestic publishing companies.
◆ Paying copying authorization fee (royalty payable for reproducing)
◆ Maximum limit – 20% of a book (only applicable to academic publications, non-academic books, novels and full-length drama)
◆ Only limited to the publications under the COLCIA’s management
◆ Copying centers limited to authorized centers
◆ Placing stickers stating legally reproduced copies
◆ Copy store stamps chop, footnoting number of pages
(2009.07)
 /DC