El nuevo canon a las universidades: tras la apropiación del canon digital para las copias privadas, la del open access

Abstract

The current reform of Spain's copyright law incorporates a new levy on universities that is related to open access to publications. It will be collected by the Spanish agency Cedro (Centro Español de Derechos Reprográficos) and the virtual campuses of universities will be required to comply. We analyze a regulatory precedent in Spain for this legal reform, which levied a tax on potential private photocopying (for personal or "fair" use). This precedent has common features with the current reform: the levy on private copying was an appropriation of public access to print information, while the levy on universities implies the appropriation of the digital commons.