copyright reform Archives

Liberals announce proposals to amend Bill C-32

The Liberal Party announced today a proposal to amend Bill C-32.

It intends to introduce a new Private Copying Compensation Payment of $35 million to be transferred to Canadian artists each year through the CPCC.

The Liberal Party also announced it intends to amend C-32 in order to:

“Restrict the education exemption by clearly defining “education” and inserting a clear and strict test for “fair” use for education purposes;

Re-insert the right of ephemeral recordings;

Restrict and tighten the language for “mash-ups”;

Remove the arbitrary 1988 statute on public expositions;
Introduce a new resale right on art, similar to European laws;

Ensure the rights of Canadian photographers are comparable to those shared by photographers around the world; and

Address the overly-restrictive digital lock provisions for personal uses.”

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An FAQ on TPMs, Copyright and Bill C-32

This blog post is based on a transcription of the talk I gave last week at the Insight Conference on Rights and Copyright: Bringing Canada into the 21st Century. * I was on a panel with Michael Geist in which we both presented on the topic of “Bill C-32: Legal Protection for TPMs”. The slides I used with my presentation have already been posted here. For convenience they are also at the end of my remarks.

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Welcome. I hope everyone is having a good day so far.…

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Key issues on the legal protection for TPMs under Bill C-32

There has been considerable debate about the appropriate scope for legal protection of TPMs under Bill C-32. I dealt with this issue in a speech I gave today at the Insight Conference: RIGHTS and COPYRIGHT, Bringing Canada into the 21st Century.

The questions I discussed were the following:

Does Bill C-32 properly implement the WIPO Treaties consistent with approaches used by Canada’s trading partners?
Does Bill C-32 permit circumvention of TPMs to permit copying for fair dealing, educational and other purposes?

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My C-32 INDU Committee opening remarks

The following were my opening remarks to the Parliamentary Committee studying Bill C-32 made earlier today.

I would like to thank the committee for inviting me to appear today to provide input on Bill C-32.

Before starting my remarks, I would like to give you some background about myself. I am not telling you all of these things to boast, but because I understand some have expressed concern that I have one or two clients affected by this legislation and that is the only view shaping my perspective.…

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Separating copyright fiction from facts about C-32’s TPM provisions

Earlier this week Prof. Geist wrote an opinion piece in the Toronto Star in which he purported to separate “copyright facts from fiction”. His opinion piece, Separating copyright facts from fiction, followed by another blog post this week, The False Link Between Locks and Levies, are two in a series of blog posts and opinion pieces written by him recently that purport to expose as inaccurate statements made about Bill C-32 by various individuals and organizations. See: Responding to ACTRA: Group Calls C-32 a “Disaster” and Proposes Six Part Fix; Copyright Fear Mongering Hits a New High: Writers Groups Post Their C-32 Brief; In Search of A Compromise on Copyright; EU: ACTA Digital Lock Rules Don’t Cover Access Controls.…

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Bill C-32’s fair dealing and other new copyright exceptions

Here are slides from the speech I gave earlier today at Osgoode Hall Law School’s professional development program on understanding Bill C-32. The speech focused on the proposed fair dealing exceptions including the new exception for education, exceptions for individuals including the UGC, format shifting, time shifting, and back-up copy exceptions, and the new exceptions for developing interoperable programs, encryption research, network security testing, and technological processes.

Sookman Osgoode C-32 Speech …

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Some observations about the debates on Bill C-32 in the House of Commons

Last week there was lots of interesting debate in the House of Commons about Bill C-32 leading up to a vote at Second Reading to refer the Bill to a legislative committee for further study.

All of the political parties agreed that copyright reform is important. They concurred with the objectives behind the Bill including the goals of creating a legal climate in which creators can both safely invest in and get paid for their content and at the same time ensure access by users to their works.…

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Bill C-32’s impacts on the IT community

Here are the slides from my speech to the 14th Annual IT.Can Conference October 28-29, 2010 in Montreal on the topic Bill C-32 – Impacts on the IT Community.

Sookman ITCAN October 2010 Slides …

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Turning up the rhetoric on C-32’s TPM provisions

As Bill C-32 approaches second reading in the House of Commons, critics of legal protection for technological measures (TPMs) are dialing up their attacks on C-32’s anti-circumvention provisions. Regrettably, many of the criticisms are based on an incorrect understanding of the Bill.

A case in point is a blog posting by Prof. Geist in which he reported on comments made by NDP MP Charlie Angus in the House of Commons on TPMs Angus Files Petition, Comments on C-32 & Digital Locks. …

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EMI Records v UPC – the case for legislative solutions to illegal file sharing

Earlier today, the Irish High Court released its decision on whether it would grant an injunction against an ISP (in this case UPC) requiring it to implement a graduated response solution to reduce unauthorized file sharing of music. After reviewing a large amount of evidence and hearing from experts, the Court ruled that this type of order would be just and proportionate. However, it ruled that it lacked the jurisdiction to make such an order.

Here are some of the important findings made by Justice Charleton, the same judge who presided over the EMI Records & Ors -v- Eircom Ltd, [2010] IEHC 108 case :

The business of the recording industry is “being devastated by internet piracy”.

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