Library of Parliament Legislative Summary of Act to Amend the Copyright Act

The Library of Parliament recently published a Legislative Summary of Bill C-32: An Act to amend the Copyright Act:

"The bill adds new rights and exceptions to the Copyright Act.2 As noted in the bill's summary, the objectives of Bill C-32 are to:

• update the rights and protections of copyright owners to better address the challenges and opportunities of the Internet, so as to be in line with international standards;
• clarify Internet service providers' liability and make the enabling of online copyright infringement itself an infringement of copyright;
• permit businesses, educators and libraries to make greater use of copyright material in digital form;
• allow educators and students to make greater use of copyright material;
• permit certain uses of copyright material by consumers;
• give photographers the same rights as other creators;
• ensure that [the Copyright Act] remains technologically neutral; and
• mandates a review of [the Copyright Act] by Parliament every five years."
  

"Whether the bill will achieve these objectives is a subject of debate amongst the various stakeholders affected by copyright reform, including authors, artists, musicians, record labels, book publishers, collective societies, libraries, museums, school associations, software developers, retailers, and consumers."

Earlier Library Boy posts on the topic of copyright reform:

• Canadian Law Librarians Join Coalition for Broader Copyright Fair Dealing (March 25, 2010)
• Final Summary of Canadian Government Copyright Consultation (April 12, 2010)
  
• Information on Canada's Proposed Copyright Modernization Act (June 3, 2010)
• Canadian Library Association Reaction to New Copyright Bill (June 6, 2010)
• More Analysis of Canada's Proposed Copyright Amendments (June 9, 2010)
• 32 Questions About Bill C-32 on Copyright Reform (June 11, 2010)
• Canadian Library Association Statement on Proposed Copyright Reform (August 17, 2010)