Question Period Note: COPYRIGHT ACT

How is the government making sure that the Copyright Act efficiently meets the needs of creators and consumers in the digital environment?

• The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring that the Copyright Act remains responsive to the needs of modern creators and consumers.

• From extending the term of copyright protection, to launching a public consultation on copyright in the age of generative AI – the government is working to ensure that Canada’s copyright framework further protects artists, creators and copyright holders, many of whom are businesses.

• The government’s amendments to the Copyright Act will ensure it reflects the realities of today’s digital world.

The Copyright Act is an important marketplace framework law and cultural policy instrument that fosters the creation and dissemination of intellectual and artistic works. The Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry is responsible for the Act, but shares responsibility for copyright policy more generally with the Minister of Canadian Heritage.
Mandate Letter
In their December 2021 mandate letters, the Ministers of Innovation, Science and Industry and of Canadian Heritage were tasked with working together “to amend the Copyright Act to further protect artists, creators and copyright holders, including to allow resale rights for artists”.
This process will occur within charged stakeholder and policy contexts, and will need to take into account a number of significant perspectives, government initiatives, and market developments, including:
(a) the findings and recommendations made by the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology (INDU) and the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage (CHPC) in their respective 2018-2019 reviews of the Copyright Act;
(b) four in-depth public consultations conducted by the government since 2021 on specific policy proposals and other issues relating to extending the general term of copyright protection, ensuring a modern copyright framework for online intermediaries, artificial intelligence and the “Internet of Things”;
(c) an ongoing, intense dispute between rights holders of content used in education and educational institutions about the latter’s payment for such content;
(d) growing domestic and international discussion of a “resale right” that would entitle artists to remuneration for the subsequent sales of their works;
(e) other copyright-related court decisions concerning the availability and parameters of website-blocking and related orders and a recent decision of the Supreme Court on the scope of certain rights under the Copyright Act; and,
(f) the next statutorily required parliamentary review of the Copyright Act, which could now begin at any time, although exact timing would be a matter for Parliament to decide.

Right to Repair
• On November 7, 2024, two private members’ bills related to the Minister’s mandate letter commitment to remove copyright obstacles to repair received royal assent.
• Bill C-244 amends the Copyright Act to allow the circumvention of a technological protection measure (TPM) if the circumvention is for the purpose of maintaining or repairing a product, including any related diagnosing.
• Bill C-294 amends the Copyright Act to expand the exception permitting the circumvention of a TPM in order to achieve interoperability. It aligns with the spirit of the Minister’s repair commitment, as it could facilitate the extension of product lifecycles.

Artificial Intelligence

• The Government of Canada ran a public “Consultation on Copyright in the Age of Generative Artificial Intelligence” from October 2023 to January 2024.

• The government is now reviewing submissions and intends to release a “What We Heard” Report.
Resale Right
• In late 2023 the Government of Canada surveyed Canadians to help support the development of resale rights for artists.

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