The Secretariat of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Government of Canada recently published reports on the trade practices of Canada. Each report contains a short summary of the provisions of Bill C-32, the Copyright Modernization Act.
When Bill C-32 was tabled in the House of Commons the Government published Facts Sheets, FAQs, and a Backgrounder that summarized the Bill’s amendments. The Bill’s objectives were also described in its Preamble. The Government described the Bill succinctly for the WTO as follows:
On June 2, 2010, the Government of Canada introduced Bill C-32, the Copyright Modernization Act. This legislation: provides legal protection for businesses that choose to use technological protection measures or “digital locks”, to protect their intellectual property as part of their business models; implements the rights and protections of the World Intellectual Property Organization Internet Treaties, which brings Canada in line with international standards; gives copyright owners the tools they need to combat piracy; clarifies the roles and responsibilities of ISPs and search engines; promotes creativity and new methods of teaching in the classroom by providing greatly expanded exceptions for education; encourages innovation in the private sector through exceptions for technical computer processes; and gives consumers the ability to, among other things, record their favourite TV shows to watch at a convenient time using the technology of their choice, put music from a CD on their MP3 player, or create a mash-up and post it on a social media website.
The Secretariat’s description of the Bill was as follows:
Following a nation-wide consultation, the Copyright Modernization Act (Bill C-32) was introduced in Parliament in June 2010, and referred to a Legislative Committee in November 2010.The Bill aims to adapt Canada’s copyright framework to the digital age by, inter alia, bringing it into line with international standards (WIPO Copyright Treaty and Performances and Phonograms Treaty), ensuring its technological neutrality, clarifying Internet service providers’ liability, giving photographers the same rights as other creators, and facilitating access by the print-disabled.
For more information about the Copyright Modernization Act or Bill C-11 or copyright reform, see Change and the Copyright Modernization Act.
