Michigan Document Services plans to appeal a decision to the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the use of copyrighted materials in coursepacks.
A decision handed down Friday by the 6th Circuit Court of appeals in Cincinnatti requires MDS and similar copyshops to provide compensation to publishers for reproducing copyrighted materials.
An MDS official said Monday the company will appeal the court's 8-5 decision in order to challenge current interpretation of copyright law.
MDS, which is based in Ann Arbor, is a major campus provider of coursepacks. The company won the right to reproduce materials for coursepacks without publisher consent in a 6th Circuit Court ruling in February. The court overturned its original finding Friday after three publishers appealed the February decision.
Sixth Circuit Court Justice David Nelson, who wrote the majority opinion in Friday's decision, wrote that, "(Changes) in technology and teaching practices that have occurred over the last two decades might conceivably make Congress more sympathetic to (MDS') position today.
"If the law on this point is to be changed, however, we think the change should be made by Congress and not by the courts," Nelson wrote in the 60-page opinion.
Attorneys representing the three publishers - Princeton University Press; MacMillan Inc.; and St. Martin's Press Inc. - anticipate an MDS appeal would die in the Supreme Court, said Hank Goldsmith, one of the attorneys for the three publishers.
"It's certainly their right to appeal, but it's not going to bear any fruit," Goldsmith said.
A 1991 ruling against a Kinko's copyshop by a federal court in New York forced copyshops to seek permission when reproducing material for coursepacks.
But MDS owner James Smith contends that scholarly works reproduced for student use should not require permission from the publisher, which is leading his charge toward the Supreme Court.
"After the Kinko's decision, I was shocked," Smith said. "I spent several months in the (University) Law library, and decided that the ruling was wrong."
In recent years, MDS - unlike several other Ann Arbor copyshops - has continued to reproduce material provided by teachers for use in coursepacks without permission from copyright holders. And, in response to Friday's ruling, Smith has 90 days to prepare his case for case for the Supreme Court.
"None of the other (copyshops) had the guts to fight," Smith said. "As far as Kinko's, they're just scared to death."
Laura McKormick, director of public relations for Kinko's, said that while her company's main objective is to take care of its customers, part of that responsibility requires the store to pay royalties on copyrighted material.
"The law provides the copyright holder the exclusive right to reproduce or permit someone else to reproduce copyrighted material," McKormick said.
Association of American Publishers President Nicholas Veliotes said in a written statement that the court's decision on Friday should send a strong message to college and university coursepack providers nationwide.
"The decision not only reiterates the important lesson that compliance with the copyright law is for everyone, but it will also specifically strengthen awareness of the need to comply with the law within the educational community," Veliotes said in the statement.
Smith's competitors in Ann Arbor said they continuously work to obtain permission to reproduce significant portions of copyrighted material into courspacks.
"We would love it if we didn't have to get permission," said Stacy Collick, Dollar Bill Copying team leader. "But with new technology, such as the Internet, we can sometimes get clearance instantly.
"(Smith) hasn't gotten permission so he doesn't know how long it takes," Collick said.
Nelson wrote in his 6th Circuit Court opinion, "Mr. Smith has been something of a crusader against the system under which his competitors have been paying agreed royalties, or 'permission fees' as they are known in the trade."
History Prof. Victor Lieberman, who participated in a deposition before the February hearing, said he can see both viewpoints.
"It's very hard for teachers to get out-of-print material," Lieberman said. "I'm willing to support Michigan Document Services from the standpoint of teaching."
Kathy Eshelman, president of Grade-A-Notes, another local copyshop, agreed with Dollar Bill's position.
"We don't feel like it's a burden to uphold the law," Eshelman said. "We're working quickly. We get immediate approval of 80 percent of material for college classes.
"If a professor submits the material two weeks before class, I can easily have it on the shelf the first day of class," she said.
Smith's philosophy is that not paying royalties to publishers greatly lowers the often high cost of coursepacks and is attractive to students, he said.
"Five hundred students and 150 faculty members supported testimony in our case," Smith said.
However, some students disagreed with Smith's position.
"If (MDS) is not paying the publishers, then that's wrong," said Business junior Amy Burke.
The appeal is likely to be heard by the Supreme Court, said Law Prof. Rebecca Eisenberg.
"I hope we'll get some clarification from the Supreme Court," Eisenberg said. "I certainly think this is a pressing issue - it has made professors reluctant to use coursepacks."
In response to Smith's claim that it is too tedious to obtain permission, and drives up costs for students, Eshelman said, "I haven't found it to be the burden (Smith) has."