Government of Canada Introduces Proposals to Modernize the Copyright Act

MONTREAL, QUEBEC, Jun 02 (MARKET WIRE) --
The Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry, and the Honourable
James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, today
announced the introduction of legislation to modernize the Copyright Act.
This legislation is a key pillar in the government's commitment in the
2010 Speech from the Throne to position Canada as a leader in the global
digital economy.

"Our government promised to introduce legislation that will
modernize Canadian copyright law for the digital age while protecting and
creating jobs, promoting innovation and attracting new investment to
Canada," said Minister Clement. "This legislation will ensure
that Canada's copyright laws are forward-looking and responsive in a
fast-paced digital world."

"Today we are introducing a copyright bill that offers a
common-sense balance between the interests of consumers and the rights of
the creative community," said Minister Moore. "The bill is
flexible, reflects the changing behaviours of consumers and the evolution
of technology, and responds to what we heard in the consultations."

The popularity of Web 2.0, social media, and new technologies such as the
MP3 player and digital books have changed the way Canadians create and
make use of copyrighted material. This bill recognizes the many new ways
in which teachers, students, artists, software companies, consumers,
families, copyright owners and many others use technology. It gives
creators and copyright owners the tools to protect their work and grow
their business models. It provides clearer rules that will enable all
Canadians to fully participate in the digital economy, now and into the
future.

This legislation will bring Canada in line with international standards
and promote home-grown innovation and creativity. It is a fair, balanced,
and common-sense approach, respecting both the rights of creators and the
interests of consumers in a modern marketplace. The Government of Canada
is working to secure Canada's place in the digital economy and to promote
a more prosperous and competitive Canada.

For more information, visit www.balancedcopyright.gc.ca.

Backgrounder

In the 2010 Speech from the Throne, the Government of Canada reiterated
its commitment to strengthening laws governing intellectual property and
copyright in order "to encourage new ideas and protect the rights of
Canadians whose research, development and artistic creativity contribute
to Canada's prosperity." The bill follows through on this commitment.

In the summer of 2009, the government launched an eight-week national
consultation on copyright modernization. Thousands of Canadians,
businesses and stakeholder organizations shared their ideas on how to
best adapt Canada's copyright framework to the digital age. What the
government heard is that Canada needs new laws that are fair and balanced
for today's content creators and users and adaptable to respond to the
challenges and opportunities of tomorrow.

The bill will give Canadian creators and consumers the tools they need to
increase Canada's international competitiveness and will implement the
rights and protections of the World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO) Internet treaties. Negotiated in 1996, the WIPO Copyright Treaty
and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty established new rights
and protections for authors, sound recording makers and performers of
audio works.

Through this legislation, the government will:

-- modernize the Copyright Act, bringing it in line with advances in
technology and international standards;
-- address the interests of Canadians, from those who create content to the
consumers who benefit from it;
-- provide a framework that is forward-looking and flexible, which will
help protect and create jobs, stimulate our economy and attract new
investment to Canada; and
-- establish rules that are technologically neutral, so they can be adapted
to a constantly evolving technological environment while ensuring
appropriate protection for both creators and users.

The following is a summary of what the provisions of the new bill will
mean to Canadians.

Creators, performers and copyright owners

New rights for Canadian creators

Canadian creators, performers and artists will benefit from the full
range of rights and protections in the WIPO Internet treaties, including
an exclusive right to control how their copyrighted material is made
available on the Internet.

In addition, the term of copyright protection for sound recordings for
performers and producers will be extended to 50 years from the time of
publication of a musical performance.

The bill makes photographers the first owner of copyright on their
photographs, which will be protected for 50 years after the death of the
photographer. People who commission photographs will be able to make
personal or non-commercial use of the photos unless there is a contract
that specifies otherwise.

Protecting the incentive to create

Provisions in the bill strengthen the ability of copyright owners to
control the uses of their online works in order to prevent widespread
illicit use and to promote creativity, innovation and legitimate business
models. Such provisions include legal protection for rights management
information and a new category of civil liability that targets those who
enable online piracy.

Copyright owners who choose to apply technological protection measures
(TPMs), such as digital locks, to prevent unauthorized access to
copyrighted material will benefit from new protection against
circumvention, or breaking locks. New rules will also prevent the
manufacture, importation and sale of devices that can break digital locks.

Users and consumers

Legitimizing Canadians' everyday activities

Canadians will be able to record television, radio and Internet
programming in order to enjoy it at a later time, with no restrictions as
to the device or medium they wish to use. Canadians will also be able to
copy any legitimately acquired music, film or other works onto any device
or medium, such as MP3 players, for their private use, and make backup
copies of these works. These provisions do not apply to on-demand
services or to material protected by a TPM.

Canadians will also be able to incorporate existing copyrighted material
in the creation of new works, such as Internet mash-ups, as long as:

-- it is done for non-commercial purposes;
-- the existing material was legitimately acquired; and
-- the work they create is not a substitute for the original material or
does not have negative impacts on the markets and reputation of the
original material.

Canadians with perceptual disabilities will be permitted to adapt
legally acquired material to a format that they can easily use. The
changes also clarify the law regarding the import of adapted material
into Canada and explicitly permit the export of certain adapted
materials, including braille and audio books.

Protecting Canadians from unreasonable penalties

The bill revises the current provisions for statutory damages to
distinguish between commercial and non-commercial infringement, with the
latter being subject to reduced statutory damages (i.e., pre-established
damages in civil litigation). The legislation also introduces the concept
of proportionality in statutory damages.

Innovative businesses

Clear copyright rules to encourage innovation

For technology companies, the bill will include measures to enable
activities related to reverse engineering for software interoperability,
security testing and encryption research, including the circumvention of
TPMs for these purposes.

The bill clarifies that the making of temporary, technical and incidental
reproductions of copyrighted material as part of a technological process
is acceptable.

Educators and researchers

More options for educators

The bill includes an extension of the change to the provisions for fair
dealing that will enable the use of copyrighted materials for the purpose
of education in a structured context, provided the use does not harm the
legitimate interests of the copyright owner and appropriate measures have
been adopted to prevent abuse, as required. In addition to education,
parody and satire have likewise been added as new purposes for fair
dealing.

The bill introduces new measures aimed at enriching the educational
experience, notably by facilitating use of the latest technologies:

-- Teachers and students will be allowed to use copyrighted material in
lessons conducted over the Internet. The amendments would apply to
teachers and students who are in the physical classroom as well as to
those who are participating in the lessons, or viewing recordings of the
lessons afterwards using Internet technology. For example, this allows
music students - both those in the classroom and those who are
participating from a remote location - to perform a copyright-protected
song together as part of a lesson.

-- Teachers will be allowed to digitally deliver course materials to
students, subject to fair compensation to copyright owners. Students
will be allowed to print a single copy of these course materials.

-- For educational and training purposes, teachers and students will be
allowed to use material that they find on the Internet as long as it is
has been legitimately posted there by copyright owners without
expectation of compensation. For example, teachers and students could
make multiple copies of articles found on the Internet and distribute
them to classmates.

The bill also adjusts existing provisions to make them more
technologically neutral:

-- The existing provisions that allow parts of a work to be copied for
display to students will be amended so they are no longer linked to
specific technologies, such as flip charts and overhead projectors.

-- The existing provisions that allow certain copyright material, such as a
play, to be performed in the classroom will now be extended to allow
teachers and students to watch legitimately acquired films and other
audiovisual works.

-- A school will no longer be required to pay copyright royalties to record
a broadcast of a current affairs program, with the exception of
documentaries, for educational purposes.

Libraries, archives and museums

Librarians will be allowed to digitize print material and then send a
copy electronically to a library client through an interlibrary loan. The
requesting client could either view the material on a computer or print
one copy.

Libraries will be permitted to make copies of copyrighted material in an
alternative format if there is a concern that the original is in a format
that is in danger of becoming obsolete.

Intermediaries and broadcasters

Supporting the sharing of ideas online

The bill will clarify that Internet service providers (ISPs) and search
engines are exempt from liability when they act strictly as
intermediaries in communication, caching and hosting activities. The
proposed legislation will ensure that those who enable infringement will
not benefit from the liability limitations afforded to ISPs and search
engines.

Because ISPs are often the only parties that can identify and warn
subscribers when they are being accused of infringing copyright, the new
provisions will compel all ISPs to participate in the "notice and
notice" regime. In other words, when an ISP receives notice from a
copyright owner that one of its subscribers is allegedly hosting or
sharing infringing material, the ISP will be required to forward the
notice to the subscriber and to keep a record of such relevant
information as the identity of the alleged infringer. ISPs that fail to
retain such records or to forward notices would be liable for civil
damages.

Bringing broadcasting rules up-to-date

Radio broadcasters will no longer be required to compensate copyright
owners for making temporary reproductions of sound recordings required
for digital operations. Small cable systems will see a harmonization of
their treatment with that of larger players under the bill.

Parliamentary review

Finally, the bill also includes a requirement for a review of the
Copyright Act by Parliament every five years to ensure it remains
responsive to a changing environment.

Contacts:
Office of the Minister of Industry
Lynn Meahan
Press Secretary
613-995-9001

Industry Canada
Media Relations
613-943-2502

Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage and
Official Languages
Matthew Deacon
Press Secretary
819-997-7788
matthew.deacon@pch.gc.ca

Canadian Heritage
Media Relations
819-994-9101
1-866-569-6155

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