New Copyright Bill Introduced

Bill C-60, An Act to amend the Copyright Act, was introduced in Parliament Monday.

This is the first major amendment to the Canadian Act since 1997.

The bill deals with the following issues:

• Bringing the Canadian Act up to the minimum standards in the two WIPO digital treaties, the WIPO Copyright Treaty, and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty
• Internet Service Provider Liability
• Educational and Research Access Issues
• Photography Issues

A government backgrounder and FAQ are on the Canadian Heritage website.

The Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic is not happy with the proposed amendments. CIPPIC, as it is called, sees "a massive transfer of rights and entitlements out of the hands of the Canadian public, and into the hands
of copyright holders. (...) Losers, unfortunately, include Canadian consumers, educators, students, Canada’s security research community, Canada’s public domain and Canadian innovators and creators, whose interests have been sacrificed to the wishes of collectives and multinational entertainment companies."

The Canadian Recording Industry Association or CRIA is happy.

The Globe and Mail's Jon Kapica, in a comment entitled Copyright bill satisfies recording industry, has a very good summary of the reactions of the various players in the debate. Essentially, "Copyright holders are to get new rights, including the right to technological protection measures, rights-management information, the ability to control the first distribution of material in tangible form, new moral rights for performances, performers would get reproduction rights, and an adjustment in the term of protection for sound recordings."

So it's not surprising industry is onside whereas the people who tend more to the "user rights" side of the discussion are less than pleased.