Canadian Issues
in cra-briefings35 · March 01, 2006
THE AFTERMATH OF Bill C-60
Though Bill C-60 died on the order paper when the federal was called in November, the effects of the draft legislation are still being felt. An example of this is an out-of-cycle review of Canada’s status being conducted by the Office of the United Stated Trade Representative. Canada is currently on the Watch List of countries that are grappling with changes in international intellectual property law (eg. The WIPO treaties), and there is a some expectation that the US may elevate Canada to the Priority Watch List. Both the American Association of Publishers and the International Intellectual Property Association have issued scathing criticisms of copyright law in Canada. The text of the IIPA’s report can be found at www.iipa.com. More information on the US review can be found on the web site of the office of the US trade representative at www.ustr.gov.
PUBLIC DOMAIN REGISTRY
On March 3, Access Copyright, Creative Commons Canada and Creative Commons US announced that they are collaborating in the creation of an online registry of Canadian works in the public domain. While this project will not involve the digitization of works, it will identify works that are in the public domain and, where possible, point to a location on the net where a digitized version can be found. The aim of this project is to provide a resource to Canadian industry, creators, educators, the international community, and the public at large, and to encourage the digitization of archival works. Its purpose is to identify much needed content and to put Canadian culture at the forefront of the international movement to preserve the public domain and make it accessible. The registry will be free-of-charge. For more information on this project please see www.accesscopyright.ca or www.globeandmail.ca.
NEW PLAYERS on the COPYRIGHT SCENE
With a new party in power in Ottawa, comes the introduction of new players on the national copyright scene. The following individuals will be key contacts as we prepare to for new copyright legislation:
Department of Canadian Heritage
Conservative Minister: Bev Oda
NDP Critic: Charlie Angus
Liberal Critic: Mauril Belanger
Bloc Critic: Maka Kotto
Department of Industry
Conservative Minister: Maxime Bernier
NDP Critic: Brian Masse
Liberal Critic: Jean Lapierre
Bloc Critic: Paul Crete
Copyright Policy Branch
Director General: Patricia Neri