Canadian parliamentary review recommends reform of Copyright Act

A Canadian parliamentary committee has recommended the government undertake broad reform of the country’s copyright policies, following a review of the fallout following the implementation of the 2012 Copyright Modernization Act, reports Publishing Perspectives.

The Canadian publishing industry welcomed the ‘sweeping new recommendations’ presented to parliament by the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. Collection agency Access Copyright thanked the standing committee for their ‘thoughtful consideration of the unintended consequences of allowing education as fair-dealing purpose’ outlined in the ‘Shifting Paradigms’ report.

Among the recommendations made to parliament was that the government introduces legislation stating that fair dealing doesn’t apply to educational institutions when the work is commercially available; promotes a return to collective licensing through collective societies; and reviews and improves the enforcement of damages for copyright infringements.

CEO and president of Access Copyright Roanie Levy said: ‘The Shifting Paradigms report recognises the very real impact of unintended consequences following 2012 changes to the Copyright Act. Moreover, the committee members have responded with recommendations that will help Canadian creators and publishers continue to produce the stories, materials, and resources educators and students want and need.’

As previously reported by Books+Publishing, representatives of the Association of Canadian Publishers (ACP) and the Writers’ Union of Canada previously told the Parliamentary Standing committee members have been ‘damaged by the Copyright Modernization Act’, which offers universities and other educational institutions a ‘fair use’ provision to copy and distribute up to 10% of material without paying a licensing fee.

Category: International news