Proposed Canadian Copyright Reforms Create Shockwaves

by Glen Shapiro, LawAndTax-News.com, New York

02 June 2004

A leading Canadian internet and e-commerce law expert has warned against the adoption of the more stringent online copyright protections recommended in April by a parliamentary committee tasked with examining the matter.

Writing in the Toronto Star on Monday, University of Ottowa Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law, and technology counsel with Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, Michael Geist, suggested that the recommendations made by the Canadian Heritage committee would "transform the internet from the incredible open source of information that it is into a predominantly commercial medium available primarily to those willing to open up their cheque books".

Under Canada's current patent laws, inventors receive a limited monopoly over the product or service that they have invented, and after a prescribed period, the patent expires, leaving the invention open to public use without prior authorisation.

The country's copyright protections are similarly liberal, with creators of works allowed the sole right to perform or reproduce the work for a limited period, after which it becomes part of the public domain.

In addition, the Canadian Copyright Act puts in place "user rights" whereby portions of copyrighted works are often permitted to be used for purposes such as research, news reporting, criticism, and public study.

However, according to Mr Geist, the nine key copyright reforms put forward by the parliamentary committee, which was headed by Toronto-area MP, Sarmite Bulte, focus primarily on the needs of copyright and patent holders, whilst neglecting those who are intended to benefit from the goods and services.

Chief among the concerns cited in the article is the proposed new license to cover internet-based works, which would impose an additional financial and administrative burden on educational establishments in particular.

According to Mr Geist:

"Although it acknowledges that some work on the internet is intended to be freely available, the committee recommends the adoption of the narrowest possible definition of publicly available."

He went on to add that:

"Rather than adopting an approach that facilitates the use of the internet, Bulte's committee has called for the creation of a restrictive regime in which nothing is allowed unless expressly permitted. The result will be an internet in which schools will be required to pay to use internet materials contrary to the expectations of many creators."

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