Canadian Association of Research Libraries Statement on Copyright Review

This is a follow-up to the June 9, 2019 post entitled How Did The Copyright Act Review Deal With Library Sector Recommendations.

Earlier this month,the House of Commons Standing Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology published its report on the Statutory Review of the Copyright Act.

On June 11, the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) issued a statement on the report that applauds the Committee's work for its "reasoned analysis and balanced conclusions":

"The report includes 36 recommendations, many of which reflect the positions put forward by CARL and our member institutions in their briefs and appearances before Committee. Notable highlights for the research library community include: 

• Amending the fair dealing exception so that allowable purposes are illustrative rather than exhaustive (...);
• Applying open licences to Canadian Government works (...);
• Facilitating the use of a work or other subject matter for the purpose of informational analysis (i.e. text and data mining) (...)
• Opposing the extension of copyright as required as part of the USMCA but, in the event that it is ratified by all parties, recommending both a registration system and a reversion right to counteract some of the disadvantages of term extension (...);
• Engaging in comprehensive consultations with 'Indigenous groups, experts and others on the protection of traditional arts and cultural expressions in the context of Reconciliation' (...);
• Prioritizing means for ensuring that works are made available in accessible formats to benefit persons with a perceptual disability (...)"