The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
With a spring election now a long shot, Industry Minister Jim Prentice has no reason to put off any longer the introduction of a bill that would bring CanadaÕs copyright law into the digital age. Such reform is long overdue. The growth of the Internet and other technologies has enabled consumers to download, copy and share music, movies and other material with a few clicks of a computer mouse, thereby eroding the ability of artists to control and earn a living from their work. After pledging in last fallÕs throne speech to Òimprove the protection of cultural and intellectual property rights in Canada, including copyright reform,Ó Prime Minister Stephen HarperÕs government appeared poised to introduce a bill in December, but backed off in the face of protests from those who feared any proposed legislation might be too heavy-handed. There are good reasons for Canada finally to come to terms with the new realities of the digital revolution. Creators of music, books and movies deserve fair compensation and a say in how their work is used. While they have benefited from the creative possibilities presented by new technologies, those same technologies have also made it easier for savvy users to steal their work. By failing to update its laws to take this new reality into account, Canada risks stifling creativity and innovation among artists who may be even harder pressed to make a living. Canada also is in danger of being seen as an outlaw by its trading partners, many of which have ratified the international treaties. The International Intellectual Property Alliance recently put Canada in the same dubious league as China and Russia as Òcountries of the greatest concern.Ó Despite the fact he has yet to table a bill, Prentice faces a groundswell of opposition from those who fear new legislation will unduly restrict the rights of users, including a 40,000-member group on social networking website Facebook. Some of these opponents worry Canada will adopt the worst features of the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which bans, with a few exceptions, the circumvention of technological protection measures even for non-infringing purposes. Prentice ought not to ignore these concerns. Any attempt to strengthen CanadaÕs copyright law will have to balance the rights of creators against the interests of users in having access to their work. But the controversy surrounding the as-yet-unseen bill should not stop Prentice from finally tackling the issue head-on.
