Education Bureau Circular Memorandum No. 127/2012. From : Secretary for Education To : Heads of Aided Primary

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1 Education Bureau Circular Memorandum No. 127/2012 From : Secretary for Education To : Heads of Aided Primary Ref. : EDB(EI)/EdCity/IP/4/2 Date : 3 September 2012 Schools and Secondary Schools, Grant Schools, Caput Schools and Special Schools New Licence Agreements on Scanning and Photocopying of Copyright Materials Purpose This Circular Memorandum informs schools of a new set of Licence Agreements between five School Councils and the Hong Kong Reprographic Rights Licensing Society (HKRRLS) effective from 1 September 2012 and for a period of three years. These Licence Agreements will grant to schools under the respective School Councils a non-exclusive and nontransferrable right to make multiple copies of copyright materials using the licensed photocopiers or scanning machines in their own premises during the licence period. Details 2. Five Schools Councils, namely, Subsidized Primary Schools Council, Hong Kong Subsidized Secondary Schools Council, Grant Schools Council, Caput Schools Council, and Hong Kong Special Schools Council, acting on behalf of their respective schools; as well as the Education Bureau (EDB) acting on behalf of Government schools, have entered into various Licence Agreements with the HKRRLS for making multiple copies of copyright materials for educational purposes since The previous set of Licence Agreements, which also lasted for three years, expired on 31 August After negotiation, the five School Councils together with the EDB will enter into a new set of Licence Agreements with the HKRRLS for a period of three years with retrospective effect from 1 September 2012 with revised licence fees. Having regard to the trend of e-learning, the new Licence Agreements will categorically allow schools to scan and post copyright materials on the school intranet for educational purposes in addition to photocopying of such materials. Other terms and conditions of the Licence Agreements will remain unchanged. Nevertheless, schools are advised to study the terms and conditions of the new Licence Agreements carefully. A sample Licence Agreement is being prepared by HKRRLS and will be available shortly at: 1

2 4. In order to benefit from the Licence Agreements and in line with the past practice, schools have to complete and return a Letter of Authorisation to authorise their respective School Councils to act on their behalf and enter into Licence Agreements with the HKRRLS. The licence fees will be borne by the EDB. Non-member schools may also benefit from the Licence Agreements via their respective School Councils. Schools are requested to follow the procedures as set out in the Appendix (relevant documents can be downloaded for use at and return the completed authorisation letters to Information Technology in Education Section of the EDB on or before 30 September Copyright Protection 5. Copyright protection is a Government policy. The Education Bureau Circular Memorandum No. 137/2010 reminds schools of the importance of compliance with copyright law. You are advised to refer to it in order to guard against inadvertent piracy. The basic principle is that notwithstanding the new set of Licence Agreements, we do not encourage schools to make copies of copyright materials. Schools should therefore make every and continuous effort to keep scanning and photocopying of copyright materials to a minimum, especially when free e-learning resources are increasingly available on the Internet nowadays. In particular, schools should take note of Footnote Number 5 of the Education Bureau Circular Memorandum No. 137/2010 which states that each school shall not, in any academic year, (i) copy from more than three textbooks in relation to the same course and, (ii) with respect to each textbook, copy more than 5% of the number of pages of the textbook. Enquiries 6. For enquiries, please contact Information Technology in Education Section of the EDB at (L M FUNG) for Secretary for Education c.c. Heads of Government Primary and Secondary Schools for information 2

3 Appendix Procedures for Schools to Benefit from the Licence Agreements with the HKRRLS 1. Make reference to the sample Letter of Authorisation at Annex and prepare a Letter of Authorisation with your school letterhead to your School Council containing the relevant school information. 2. Fill in the particulars of your school (i.e. the Licensee) at Schedule I of the Annex. 3. Send by post the duly signed (with school chop) Letter of Authorisation together with the completed Schedule I to Information Technology in Education Section of the EDB of the following address on or before 30 September Chief Curriculum Development Officer Information Technology in Education Section Education Bureau E420, East Block EDB Kowloon Tong Education Services Centre 19 Suffolk Road, Kowloon Tong Kowloon (Attn: Mr. Jack WONG) 4. Check if your school is included in the Licensee list which will be available on the EDB homepage by the end of October

4 Information for completing Letter of Authorization: Chairpersons and Addresses of the School Councils Hong Kong Subsidized Secondary Schools Council Mr. LIU Ah-chuen c/o Christian Alliance S W Chan Memorial College 12 Fai Ming Road, Fanling, N.T. Subsidized Primary Schools Council Mr. SIN Kim-wai c/o PLK Tin Ka Ping Millennium Primary School 4641 Tai Po Road, Tai Po Kau, Tai Po, N.T. Grant Schools Council Mr. TAM Siu-ping, George c/o Wah Yan College, Hong Kong 281 Queen's Road East, Wanchai, Hong Kong Caput Schools Council Mr. CHAN Yau-chi c/o United Christian College 11 Tong Yam Street, Tai Hang Tung, Kowloon Hong Kong Special Schools Council Mrs. LO NG Wai-fun, Connie c/o Hong Chi Winifred Mary Cheung Morninghope School 220 Lai King Hill Road, Kwai Chung, N.T. 4

5 **SAMPLE** [USE SCHOOL LETTERHEAD] [Date] [Name of Chairman] Chairman [Name of Schools Council] [Address of Schools Council] Dear [Mr / Ms XXX] As duly authorised by the School Management Committee by resolution during a management committee meeting, we hereby appoint you to act for us to enter into and sign the Licence Agreement with The Hong Kong Reprographic Rights Licensing Society Limited and other parties, a copy of which is attached hereto (the "Agreement"). We confirm that we have reviewed the Agreement and understood and will comply with the terms of the Agreement. Yours sincerely, For and on behalf of [Name of School] [signature and school chop] [Name of Principal] Principal Enc 5

6 SCHEDULE I PARTICULARS OF THE LICENSEE Name of Licensee: Address: Tel: Fax: School code / ID: Contact person: 6