Copyright: Characteristics of Canadian Reform

• Author: Sara Bannerman
• Pages: 17-44

 

Copyright:

Characteristics of Canadian Reform

Sara Bannerman

Canadia n copyright has been ca lled “the most contentious, the most con-

troversial subject that has ever been before the Parl iament of Canada,”

occasioning “more fric tion in the parliament of Canad a . . . than any

other subject.” at statement, t hough made in , is stil l true today

as Ca nada embarks on its third attempt in f‌ive years to re vise Canadi an

copyright law. Tensions arise not only out of the conf‌lict ing demands of

Canadia n copyright stakeholders; they also arise out of the var ious inter-

national pressures on Canadia n copyright policy and ef‌forts to meet those

demands wh ile tailoring Canadian copyright to domestic circumstances.

e atte mpt, under Bill C-, to br ing Canada into confor mity with the

World Intellectual P roperty Organization ( WIPO)’s  Internet treaties

is an ef‌fort to navigate these tensions — occasioning as much friction and

controversy as its predecessors.

e current copyright reform initi ative can be viewed in light of a num-

ber of trends that have ch aracterized Canadian copyright reform since

the time that Canada’s f‌irst copyright Act w as put in place in . Most

importantly, Canad ian copyright has a lways taken place in the context of

the push and pull of internationa l pressures. Domestic and i nternational

demands often conf‌l ict, and there is often si gnif‌icant resi stance withi n

Canada to demands for reform coming from outside the country. While

 Debates of the Senate, S econd Session — Fourteenth Parliament,  (- Geo. V ), at

–.



Sara Bannerman

in the early days of Canadian copyri ght such conf‌lict resulted in rebell ion

against I mperial and intern ational copyright norm s, this type of conf‌lict

has been replaced by a slow and relatively obliging tendency in reform,

generally involvi ng unhurried progress, minim alist adhesion to inter-

national treat ies, and carving out made-in-Canada approaches. Although

there have been instances where Canad a has stepped into the role of a

leader on internationa l copyri ght, that position h as been quickly aban-

doned and leadership left to stronger powers. In general, made-in -Canada

approaches resu lt in innovative policy solutions on narrow issues along-

side a genera l acquiescence to the v isions of copyright forged in inter-

national inst itutions and larger countries.

Since Canadia n Confederation in , there have been four major suc-

cessful copy right reforms. Canada’s f‌irst Copy right Act of  u nderwent

major revisions in ,  , , and . Canada passed its f‌irst post-

Confederation copyright Act in , basing the Canadi an A ct on the

Americ an model. In , provisions were added to the Act i ntended to

encourage British copy right holders to print and publish (or reprint or re-

publish) their works in Canad a. In , Canada put a new Act into ef‌fect,

adopting more directly the Br itish legislat ive model and the wording of

the British Copyright Act. e Copyright Act of  has remained the basis

for Canadian copy right and has undergone several revisions, most signif‌i-

cantly in  and . Bill C- represents the third attempt to initiate

a f‌ift h major reform to Canadian copy right, following previous attempts

in  and .

Seen in light of past trends, Bil l C- includes some made-in-Canada

solutions on narrow issues but, on broader issues, abandons made-in-

Canada solutions in favour of a more Americ an maxima list approach. In

important rega rds it abandons the tendency, adopted in past reforms, to

maintain C anadian policy f‌lex ibility by adhering on a m inimalist basis to

international treaties.

 An Act Respec ting Copyrights, S .C.  ( Vic t.), c.  [Canada Copyright Ac t ].

 An Act Respe cting Copyright s, S.C.  ( V ict.), c.  [Canada Copyright Ac t ].

 An Act to Amend and Consolida te the Law Relating to Cop yright, S.C.  (–  Geo.

V), c.  [Canada Cop yright Act ]; and An Ac t to Amend the Copyright A ct, S.C. ,

(– Geo. V), c.  [Canad a Copyright Act ].

 Copyright Act , R.S.C. , c. C- , http://laws.j ustice.gc .ca/eng/C- /inde x.htm l

[Canada Copyright A ct ]; and An Act to Amen d the Copyright Act, R .S.C. , c. ,

www.wipo.int/clea/en/text_html.jsp?lang=EN&id=  [Canada Copyri ght Act ].