OTTAWA – The Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology last week announced a work plan under which it will conduct the statutorily mandated review of the Copyright Act (it’s required every five years).
The committee will conduct the review in three phases and hear testimony from:
- Witnesses representing specific sectors of activity, including publishing, visual arts, software and telecommunications (phase I);
- Witnesses representing a range of stakeholders involved in multiple sectors of activity, such as Indigenous communities and various interest groups (phase II); and
- Legal experts, including individual lawyers and academics, along with professional associations (phase III).
The Committee will also travel across Canada in May to provide Canadians more opportunities to express their views on copyright. The committee aims to complete all three phases by early 2019.
To support the review of the Act, the Committee has also asked the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage to conduct a study on payment models for artists and creative industries. This means the Heritage Committee will undertake its own public process for this part and will soon call on the various stakeholders impacted by copyright to the committee room to testify.
The Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology release invites Canadians to submit written briefs not exceeding 2,000 word to: indu@parl.gc.ca.
