OTTAWA – The Copyright Modernization Act received Royal Assent last week and is expected to become law this fall, once its regulations have been published. Parliament will review the law every five years.
"We never doubted that we would see this day but it has been a long road, in particular for creators, whose livelihoods have been deeply eroded by piracy. We commend the government and Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore in particular, for their tenacity in pursuing a modern copyright framework and legislation that will enable Canada to ratify the World Intellectual Property Organization Internet Treaties," says Graham Henderson, President of Music Canada.
Considered the most comprehensive effort to modernize Canadian copyright laws in over a decade, it tackles a wide variety of issues, including time and format shifting and the expansion of fair dealing. The law extends fair dealing provisions to encompass education, parody and satire use; time shifting for legally obtained broadcast media, and reproducing copyrighted work for education purposes.
It also covers the non-commercial use of copyright works, and the liability of Internet service providers and search engines for infringements. The Act includes a controversial provision for so-called “digital locks,” that would allow rights holders to restrict or prohibit copying, even for personal use.
University of Ottawa copyright expert Michael Geist believes that Ottawa caved into the U.S. regarding the use of digital locks.
“There’s no way to sugarcoat the fact that I think it represents both bad policy and it runs counter to what the government heard from tens of thousands of Canadians, and from the majority of the witnesses and was easily fixable, so it’s a huge disappointment that it wasn’t. That said, there is also I think a lot of good in this legislation. Those that would simply tar the bill as being awful, I think aren’t giving it a full fair read,” he wrote in his blog posting.
Those found guilty of copyright infringement in Canada now face increased fines. Parties who use copyrights for commercial purposes without the owner’s permission can pay as much as $20,000 in damages, while individuals who do so for non-commercial purposes can be charged a maximum of $5,000. Internet service providers are now responsible for notifying customers when a copyright owner identifies a potential infringement.
An economic impact study on the recording industry in Canada, recently prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and published by Music Canada, indicates that while digital sales of recorded music have grown in the past five years, they have not offset the drop in total sales. Despite the contraction though, the study concludes that the recording industry remains an important economic generator for Canada.
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), which worked for year to help shape the new copyright system, praised the government in a statement for recognizing the “value that radio creates for music.”
“After more than a decade of battling the ephemeral tax and the unfair layering of royalties for radio broadcasters, the CAB and its members are finally taking a moment to acknowledge this positive development in copyright law,” added the CAB.
Henderson also noted that major and independent music companies, as well as the broader music community, support thousands of high-paying jobs across Canada and “represent one of Canada's most successful exports, making copyright protection a good investment for Canadians.”
