Significant Canadian Copyright Act Amendments Now in Force

In an update to previous E-TIPS® coverage on Canadian copyright reform, major amendments to Canada’s Copyright Act came into force on November 7, 2012. The changes include:

• fair dealing provisions to include parody, satire and educational uses;
• anti-circumvention provisions for technological protection measures (TPMs), and making it an infringement to remove or alter rights management information;
• a new “making available” right for performers, including the right to prevent posting on passive download websites and shared directories;
• photographs harmonization provisions – photographs now owned by photographer as author, even if commissioned;
• protection for certain non-commercial uses, such as non-commercial mash-ups, format-shifting and time-shifting;
• exemptions for educational institutions;
• exemptions for certain technical reproductions, such as for security and encryption research;
• amendments to the statutory damages scheme to separate commercial and non-commercial infringing uses.

Amendments regarding Internet service providers have not yet come into force. The provisions will exempt ISPs from liability where they comply with a notice-and-notice protocol. These safeharbour provisions are expected to be proclaimed in force once the related regulations have been drafted. The set of amendments (known the Copyright Modernization Act, formerly Bill C-11) follows extensive consultations, and several previous unsuccessful legislative attempts, going back to 2005. The amendments were intended to bring Canada into compliance with the WIPO Copyright Treaty and WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty. The full text of the Copyright Modernization Act is available here: http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/AnnualStatutes/2012_20/FullText.html Further commentary is found at: http://tinyurl.com/dx27bxs and http://tinyurl.com/b8hfw3n Summary by: Jennifer Jannuska