Michael Geist has done us all a huge service in editing this timely and important volume on one of the defining issues of the early 21st century. As the government considers legislation to bring Canadian copyright law into the digital age (Bill C-60) and the courts are increasingly addressing intellectual property cases, there is an urgency in providing informed analysis on the issues from a user rights perspective. This book provides the necessary broad public policy context and detailed analysis of the complex and diverse issues captured under the rubric of copyright in the digital age.

The 19 contributors are Canadian academics and/ or lawyers directly engaged in Canadian copyright in their research, teaching and political advocacy. It is refreshing to have their work available in a form with the potential to reach well beyond universities and law firms to inform the present political debate on copyright. While the essays have immediate relevance, Geist is correct in predicting they will remain relevant long after the present political process is a distant memory.

Moving from the over arching issues of the nature of balance of interests in copyright law and the international treaties which increasingly impinge upon the evolution of domestic legislation, the volume ventures into a number of areas that preoccupy the current legislative agenda, including the making available right, anti-circumvention of technological protection measures, Internet service provider liability, enhanced protections for photographs and the role of collective licencing. In case CAUT members read this list and mistakenly think they can safely avoid reading this book, it also covers classroom use of copyrighted content, interlibrary loans, electronic reserves and distance education. All these issues, whether they obviously relate to universities or not, have the potential to directly affect the finances of the institutions and day-to-day actions of educators.

For the first time, the copyright debate directly impinges on the actions of Canadians in their homes. The potential impact on educators and the institutions they work in and the students they serve is greater than it has ever been. It is imperative that individual CAUT members act collectively and individually as citizens to advocate for fair and reasonable user rights in accessing and using copyrighted content. The political agenda is being driven by the music and movie industries and it is only through informed and widespread citizen engagement that this influence can be effectively countered. In the Public Interest is an excellent tool in furthering this goal.

To the credit of the editor, contributors and publisher, In the Public Interest can be accessed for noncommercial use under a Creative Commons licence at www.irwinlaw.com. As the ebook has more than 600 pages, purchasing the paperback for $50 may be preferable to reading on screen or printing out a copy. However accessed, this is a book which should be read and carefully considered by all who care about education and robust user rights in accessing and using intellectual property in Canada.

Paul Whitney is the City Librarian at Vancouver Public Library and chair of the National Library of Canada Council on Access to Information for Print-Disabled Canadians, and a member of the Canadian Heritage Public Lending Right Commission and the PLR executive. He also chairs the Canadian Library Association Copyright Committee, the Canadian Urban Library Council Copyright Committee and the Copyright Forum, which addresses digital copyright issues with the federal government on behalf of 15 national education, library, archive and museum associations.