Earlier this week, I submitted my copyright review brief to the Industry Committee. The brief tracks my opening comments to the committee closely, focusing on the data arising from five issues: educational copying, site blocking, the so-called value gap, the impact of the copyright provisions of the CUSMA, and potential reforms in support of Canada’s innovation strategy. Due to a 2,000 word limit, the committee version will be a slightly condensed version of my original. I’ve posted both online (original version, submitted version).
The brief relies extensively on the many posts and articles I’ve written in recent years on copyright issues in Canada. Those posts are listed in an appendix and posted below:
Educational Copying and Fair Dealing
- Canadian Copyright, Fair Dealing and Education, Part One: Making Sense of the Spending
- Canadian Copyright, Fair Dealing and Education, Part Two: The Declining Value of the Access Copyright Licence
- Canadian Copyright, Fair Dealing and Education, Part Three: Exploring the Impact of Site Licensing at Canadian Universities
- Canadian Copyright, Fair Dealing and Education, Part Four: Fixing Fair Dealing for the Digital Age
- Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 1: Access Copyright’s Inconsistent Claims on the Legal Effect of the 2012 Fair Dealing Reforms
- Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 2: Why Access Copyright’s Claim of 600 Million Uncompensated Copies Doesn’t Add Up
- Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 3: Data Shows Books Are Rapidly Declining as Part of Coursepack Materials
- Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 4: The Shift from Coursepacks to Digital Course Management Systems
- Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 5: The Multi-Million Dollar Educational Investment in E-Book Licensing
- Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 6: Why Site Licences Offer Education More than the Access Copyright Licence
- Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 7: My Appearance Before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage
- Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 8: The Access Copyright Fight Against Transactional Licensing
- Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 9: The Remarkable Growth of Free and Open Materials
- Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 10: Rejecting Access Copyright’s Demand to Force Its Licence on Canadian Education
- Fair Dealing and the Right to Read: The Case of Blacklock’s Reporter v. Canada (Attorney General)
- Fair Dealing Support for News Reporting and Public Debate: The Case of Warman and National Post v. Fournier
- Why Fair Dealing Safeguards Freedom of Expression: The Case of the Vancouver Aquarium
- Why Fair Dealing Benefits Creators: The Case of a Room Full of Spoons
- Access Copyright Calls for Massive Expansion of Damage Awards of Up To Ten Times Royalties
Website Blocking
- The Case Against the Bell Coalition’s Website Blocking Plan, Part 1: Canada’s Current Copyright Law Provides Effective Anti-Piracy Tools
- The Case Against the Bell Coalition’s Website Blocking Plan, The Finale
- UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression: Website Blocking Plan “Raises Serious Inconsistencies” With Canada’s Human Rights Obligations
- Coalition Featuring Google, Amazon, GoDaddy and CogecoPeer1 Warn Against Canadian Site Blocking Plan: Lost Jobs, Stifled Innovation
- No Need for New Internet Injunctions: Why Canadian Copyright Law Already Provides Rights Holders with the Legal Tools They Need
- Why Canada is Now Home to Some of the Toughest Anti-Piracy Rules in the World…And What Should Come Next
- Canadian DMCA in Action: Court Awards Massive Damages in First Major Anti-Circumvention Copyright Ruling
- Canada’s Tough Anti-Piracy Copyright Law: Federal Court Awards Millions in Damages Against Unauthorized Streaming Site
Value Gap
- Music Industry’s Canadian Copyright Reform Goal: “End Tech Companies’ Safe Harbours”
- Who Needs an iPhone Tax: Canadian Music Industry Instead Calls for $40 Million Annual Handout
- Music Canada Data Confirms Huge Increase in Streaming Revenues and Sharp Decline of Music Listening from Pirated Sources
- SOCAN Financial Data Highlights How Internet Music Streaming is Paying Off for Creators
- Broken Record: Why the Music Industry’s Secret Plan for iPhone Taxes, Internet Tracking and Content Blocking is Off-Key
- Canadian Music Industry Seeks New Fees, Content Blocking, and Right to Renegotiate Deals Despite Generating Record Digital Revenues
The Effect of CUSMA
- From Copyright Term to Super Bowl Commercials: Breaking Down the Digital NAFTA Deal
- USMCA Sends Canada Back to the Drawing Board on Copyright Law
- Canadian Publisher on the Term of Copyright: Life Plus 50 Years is “Already Too Long”
- Why Copyright Term Matters: Publisher Study Highlights Crucial Role of the Public Domain in Ontario Schools
- The Trouble With the TPP’s Copyright Rules
Pro-Innovative Reforms
- Canadian Copyright Reform Requires a Fix to the Fair Dealing Gap
- How Trolls are Stifling Innovators, Gamers, and Netflix Junkies
- Want to Keep Canadian AI Thriving?: Create a Copyright Exception for Informational Analysis
- Why Copyright Law Poses a Barrier to Canadian AI Ambitions
- Paywall Ruling Places Spotlight on Canada’s Digital Lock Problem
- The Trouble with the TPP, Day 2: Locking in Digital Locks
- The Case for Flexibility in Implementing the WIPO Internet Treaties
- Canadian Government Commits $50 Million to Creative Commons Licensed Open News Content
- Digital Trends and Initiatives in Education: The Study the Association of Canadian Publishers Tried To Bury
- Canadian Copyright, OA, and OER: Why the Open Access Road Still Leads Back to Copyright
- Canada’s National Digitization Plan Leaves Virtual Shelves Empty
- Government of Canada Quietly Changes Its Approach to Crown Copyright
- Canada May Be Nearing the Open Access “Tipping Point”
- Swartz’s Death Places Spotlight on More Open Access To Information
- Setting the Stage for the Next Decade of Open Access
- Why the Government’s Commitment to “Open by Default” Must Be Bigger Than Open Data