A coalition of creators wants the Copyright Act to be changed so that Internet Service Providers share in the responsibility of the content that customers circulate on their networks. The coalition in a paper released earlier this week called for ISPs to share in the liability for copyright infringement when it neglects to withdraw illegal content after being advised of its presence by the copyright holder.
Specifically, the coalition wants the law changed so that ISPs aren’t allowed to sanction or encourage the public to use telecommunication services to distribute content without the appropriate compensation to creators and copyright owners.
The coalition also urges the adoption of the “notice and takedown” procedure advocated by the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. The proposed provisions aimed at ISPs was just one of numerous suggestions included in the platform on copyright reform released by the coalition in anticipation of the federal government’s expected reform of the Copyright Act.
“Without the protection for performers and creators, we risk more than harming our international reputation, we risk damaging our industry at large. It’s in the public interest that artists and their work be protected so they can earn a living and contribute to our culture and economy,” said ACTRA national executive director Stephen Waddell.
ACTRA is a member of the coalition along with 16 other professional associations, including the American Federation of Musicians, Canadian Actors’ Equity Association, Canadian Artists Representation, Canadian Music Center, Canadian League of Composers, Guild of Canadian Film Composers, Playwrights Guild of Canada, Songwriters Association of Canada and the Writers Guild of Canada.
The coalition also wants the Copyright Act to be amended to strengthen and extend moral rights, the government to incorporate provisions of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) treaty into Canadian law, the private copying regime to be expanded to include all categories of work covered by the Copyright Act and the Copyright Act to be amended to include a droite de suite that would be an inalienable and non-transferable right in the original artwork giving the creator an economic interest in successive re-sales of the work concerned.
