TORONTO – The Documentary Organization of Canada/l’Association des documentaristes du Canada (DOC) is urging the government to look south to the U.S. as it considers key revisions to the new copyright bill.
DOC says that if Bill C-11 is passed without amendments, Canadian documentary filmmakers will be prohibited from exercising their right to criticize and comment on content protected by technological protection mechanisms (TPMs), including books, films, television and music.
In 2010, the U.S. Copyright Office granted an exemption for documentary filmmakers to allow for the circumvention of TPMs on DVDs for the purposes of criticism and commentary, and Canadian documentary filmmakers should be afforded the same exemption, the organization maintains.
“The Copyright Act provides documentary filmmakers the right to use copyrighted content for the purpose of criticism or commentary, but this bill throws up a legal barrier to access the media we need to exercise that right”, said chair Katie McKenna, in a statement. “Right now, C-11 is a legal rabbit hole for artists. We're asking the Government to follow the American lead, and address this contradiction before the bill is passed — anything else will place us at a competitive disadvantage with the U.S."
