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MDS coursepack ruling a victory for students

Small businesses won a victory this week, as the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Ann Arbor's Michigan Document Services. The copier no longer has to pay royalties to Princeton University Press, Macmillan Inc. and St. Martin's Press for duplicating copyrighted material in coursepacks.

The outcome reinforced community unification to win a fight. Students and professors signed more than 350 affidavits in support of MDS -- which the judges said influenced their decision. Students in Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky, also can thank Jim Smith, owner of MDS. His persistence in this case greatly benefited universities.

Publishing houses may appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, an unnecessary and probably useless step. Currently, two federal courts have issued opposing rulings affecting the copying and selling of coursepacks on university campuses. However, the latest ruling is an expansive 30-page decision that cites the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976 as its foundation. The decision held a solid two-thirds vote in favor of the verdict, and should stand up in a Supreme Court challenge.

Coursepacks are used primarily as substitutes for putting a book on reserve -- not as a substitute for purchasing the book. Therefore, publishing houses will not miss profits from textbook sales. In fact, publishers' charges for copyright fees could be considered extortion -- students gain knowledge from coursepacks, not profit. Publishing companies should not charge royalties on small portions of their product, especially when the materials are used for teaching purposes.

As a result of the decision, coursepack prices will probably decrease now that copying centers do not have to pay publishing houses unnecessary royalties. Furthermore, University professors will now have access to a wider variety of materials -- texts prohibited by publishers can be included in future coursepacks. Overall, students pay less and learn more, professors have more availability to materials and copy centers will not fold by paying publishers unnecessarily.

Publishers make a small fortune by overcharging students for their textbooks. If students must accept textbook prices, the publishers must accept the court's decision. One Saline-based manufacturer attributed academic publishing for 30-35 percent of its $31 million in sales last year. The loss of these royalties will not cause bankruptcy. For students, however, any money saved on coursepacks could be used for other expenses, such as tuition.

Coursepacks are an important part of the University, but they are often overpriced. Students, faculty and local businesses were able to lower that cost. Now it's time to work on textbook prices.