OTTAWA – The Government’s decision to reintroduce its Copyright Modernization Act back in the House of Commons was been met with a resounding thumbs-up from almost all industry stakeholders.
Bill C-11 seeks to bring Canada’s antiquated copyrights law in line with current international standards by implementing provisions of the World Intellectual Property Protection Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty. Industry Minister Christian Paradis and Heritage Minister James Moore said in a joint announcement that the legislation will ensure that Canada’s copyright laws are modern and flexible, while balancing the needs of creators and users.
"Canadians will soon have modern copyright laws that protect and help create jobs, promote innovation, and attract new investment to Canada," Minister Paradis said, in a statement. "We are confident that this bill will make Canada’s copyright laws forward-looking and responsive in this fast-paced digital world."
"Our Government received a strong mandate from Canadians to put in place measures to ensure Canada’s digital economy remains strong," added Minister Moore. "Our Government recognizes how new technologies are changing the lives of many Canadians. This bill delivers a common-sense balance between the interests of consumers and the rights of the creative community."
The announcement, available here, was lauded by the country’s private broadcasters who noted that the radio industry contributed $115 million in direct funding and copyright payments to the music industry this past year, making it the largest single payer of copyright tariffs in Canada.
"Broadcasters are optimistic that this time copyright reform will get implemented," said CAB chair Sylvie Courtemanche. "We can pick up where we left off when the last bill died on the order paper. The broad policy debates are over: the Government has reaffirmed its clear intent to provide broadcasters with a full exemption from reproduction right liability. We can now focus on the minor technical amendments that will help ensure that Bill C-11 works as intended. To that end, broadcasters look forward to working with the Special Legislative Committee."
The Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA) also welcomed the move, though said that the Bill could be still use a little tweaking.
“We understand the Government is still open to improving the Bill by addressing issues such as educational use, and the mash-up provisions, which are some of the matters we have previously raised,” said president and CEO Norm Bolen. “We look forward to working with them to make the new copyright law even better.”
The Canadian Intellectual Property Council (CIPC) suggested that improvements to the Bill are needed in the areas of enabling infringement; encryption research; computer and network security; interoperability; reverse-engineering of software; user-generated content; online service provider liability ("safe harbours"); private copying and back-ups; and statutory damages.
The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) expressed disappointment with the Bill, which it says contains the “same flaws as its predecessor” including overly permissive language surrounding fair dealing for the purpose of education; a user generated content provision that would allow consumers to re-edit a copyright holder’s work without their permission; and legalizing format-shifting without building on existing royalty systems that compensate creators.
“The government has literally just slapped a new number on the deeply-flawed Bill C-32 instead of listening to months of testimony from dozens of creators’ groups,” said ACTRA national president Ferne Downey. “ACTRA submitted reasonable and workable recommendations that would make copyright more effective for everyone. It’s disappointing to see that they didn’t craft a bill that reflects the reality of 21st century artists – a new session of Parliament deserves a new copyright bill.”
The Government called modernizing Canada’s copyright laws “an important part” of its strategy for the digital economy, and that the Bill recognizes the many new ways in which teachers, students, artists, companies, consumers, families, and copyright owners use technology.
– Lesley Hunter
