The Canadian Press
Published Thursday, Jul. 12, 2012 6:20AM EDT
OTTAWA, Ont. - A series of rulings from the Supreme Court of Canada today could have an impact on everything from grade-school handouts to the cost of downloading music.
The top court decided last year to consider five different copyright-related cases at once.
One of the appeals raises the question of whether elementary and secondary school teachers can photocopy materials for their students without having to pay copyright fees.
Education ministers and school boards from across Canada are arguing that the practice falls well within the so-called fair dealing exemptions of the Copyright Act.
Another case is about whether Internet service providers who transmit music to customers should be made to pay royalty fees for those songs.
A similar case involves music in video games, and whether royalties should be paid each time a game is downloaded online.
