Digital Copyright Reform in Canada

Bill C-61

On June 12, 2008, Industry Minister Jim Prentice and Minister of Canadian Heritage Josée Vernier introduced Bill C-61, An Act to Amend the Copyright Act, after a brief delay due to public response and concerns over the lack of public consultation in November of 2007. The government promised a "Made in Canada" approach to the Internet and new technologies, and highlighted in particular the introduction of a number of new exceptions for various private uses of copyrighted material, along with provisions addressing Internet service provider (ISP) liability, exceptions for educational and research purposes, and the circumvention or manipulation of technological protection measures (TPM) and rights management information (RMI) .

According to the government-issued backgrounder, the amendments are aimed at providing "fair and predictable rules for copyright in a digital environment for all Canadians" in order to "bring the Act in line with advances in technology and current international standards." Notably, the government situates the amendments within its "broader intellectual property strategy" and characterizes them as an attempt to make good on promises made in the 1997 Throne Speech, and makes little reference to the WIPO Treaties as motivation for the bill. However, the preamble to the Act does claim that the bill contains norms that are "reflected" in the WIPO treaties and identifies these norms as absent in the current Copyright Act.

The government named four guiding principles for copyright reform in its press release:

1. The rights of those who hold copyright must be balanced with the needs of users to access copyright works.
2. The Copyright Act must provide clear, predictable and fair rules to allow Canadians to derive benefits from their creations.
3. The Copyright Act should foster innovation in an effort to attract investment and high-paying jobs to Canada.
4. Canada must ensure that its copyright framework for the Internet is in line with international standards.

• Bill C-61 - Overview
• Responses to Bill C-61
• Bill C-61 and the DMCA