OTTAWA — The Government of Canada announced Wednesday it is seeking input into proposed legislative and regulatory changes to the Copyright Board of Canada’s decision-making processes.
The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED), and the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage, jointly with the Copyright Board of Canada, launched consultations to allow interested parties to share their views on proposed reforms to the Board.
The government has made available a discussion paper that presents 13 possible options for legislative and regulatory reforms. In addition, the government said it will consider any other reform options that would help to address the Board’s challenges outlined in the discussion paper, according to a press release announcing the launch of the consultations.
Several previous consultations and recent research have identified the need for timely decisions on the use of copyrighted content, particularly in light of rapid technological advances, the press release said.
“The Copyright Board of Canada plays a critical role in our copyright regime. In order to thrive in the digital economy, we need to create a more efficient and effective tariff-setting process to facilitate innovation and business growth. A modern Copyright Board will better support both creators and users of copyrighted content by providing them with an efficient, transparent, stable and predictable regulatory environment,” said ISED Minister Bains, in the press release.
The Copyright Board of Canada establishes royalties for the use of copyrighted content in a broad range of areas, including music streaming, the public performance of music, educational copying and the retransmission of television signals.
“The Government of Canada recognizes the invaluable contribution of Canadian creators to our economy and society and is committed to ensuring fair remuneration for artists. Through these consultations, we seek concrete improvements to the Copyright Board that enable creators to efficiently access new, diverse and stable streams of revenue. I invite anyone concerned with these issues to engage in this important consultation,” said Heritage Minister Joly, in the press release.
Claude Majeau, vice-chairman and CEO of the Copyright Board of Canada, was quoted as saying: “The Board looks forward to input from all stakeholders, including copyright owners, creators, users and consumers on the Board’s role in preserving the public interest by regulating efficiently and fairly the process of establishing copyright royalties in a modern and innovative economy.”
The consultations will be open from August 9 to September 29. Interested parties can submit their comments until September 29 by emailing CBconsultations@canada.ca.
A statutory Parliamentary review of The Copyright Act is expected to begin sometime after November 7, 2017.
