Copyright decision: Court says no to BDUs, yes to Collectives

By Denis Carmel IN A DECISION RENDERED last Thursday, the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) dismissed an application for judicial review that had been brought by six broadcasting distribution undertakings (BDUs) and partially granted an application made by a group of nine collective societies. The appeals stem from a decision from the Copyright Board of Canada (the Board), issued in August 2019 relating to royalties for the period 2014–2018. In Canada, cable providers (BDUs) can distribute local over-the-air television signals for free and without permission from the signal owner. But, in the case of distant signals, the BDUs can distribute...