Graham Henderson, President, Music Canada http://musiccanada.com/contact/
Michael Geist explains how the Committee acted outside
its mandate of looking at remuneration models in order to help the INDU
Committee in its forthcoming s. 92 report. Instead, Committee Chair Julie
Dabrusin rubber stamped lobbying positions of the music, publishing and
collective sectors . For example, it notably embraces Access Copyright’s
devious attempt to make tariffs mandatory by harmonizing tariff regimes and
statutory minimum damages, an approach that appeared to have also received early but
hopefully not lasting sympathy from DG Mark Schaan at ISED and perhaps other
officials.
This is the most over-the-top copyright event I’ve
seen since the 1985 Charter of Rights for Creators and the infamous 2004 Bulte
Report. Michael Geist has aptly penned the name “Bulte Redux” to today’s report
– referring to a former Liberal MP once touted as the next Canadian Heritage
minister.
For those who don’t know Canadian copyright history
and may be condemned to repeat it, Sarmite Bulte’s
political career ended a couple of years after her very one sided report when
her closeness to the entertainment and collective sectors was exposed and she
was defeated in her reelection in the presumed safe Liberal seat of Toronto Parkdale
in 2006. Had she been reelected, and the Liberals not defeated, she might have
been the next Heritage Minister. But flying too high with the copyright lobby effectively
ended her political career.
Anyway, here are the recommendations of today’s report
which I shall henceforth call the “Values Gap” report because it is so one-sided
and so completely falls short of the values of balance, evidence-based analysis,
and democratic responsibility that we would expect from a Canadian
parliamentary committee. The Committee simply ignored the testimony of those with
whom it disagreed, including, as Michael Geist points out, Professors Jeremy de
Beer, Ariel Katz, Nick Mount, Meera Nair along with author Cory Doctorow and me,
lawyer Howard Knopf. Hopefully, INDU and Cabinet will do much better. I’ve
highlighted some of the more outrageous and insupportable recommendations:
Recommendation
1
That
the Government of Canada increase its support for creators and creative
industries
in adapting to new digital
markets............................................................... 9
Recommendation
2
That
the Government of Canada develop mechanisms by which streaming
services
will develop and promote Canadian content.
............................................... 15
Recommendation
3
That
the Government of Canada create educational materials to raise
awareness
of copyright provisions and artist remuneration for consumers. ..............
16
Recommendation
4
That
the Government of Canada create educational materials to raise
awareness
of copyright provisions as well as artists’ rights and responsibilities
under
the Copyright Act for artists and creators. ........................................................
16
Recommendation
5
That the Government of Canada review
the safe harbour exceptions and laws
to ensure that Internet service
providers are accountable for their role in the
distribution of content.
..............................................................................................
19
Recommendation
6
That
the Government of Canada increase its efforts to combat piracy and
enforce
copyright. ......................................................................................................
19
Recommendation
7
That the Government of Canada pursue
its commitment to implement the
extension of copyright from 50 to 70
years after the author’s death. ......................... 22
Recommendation
8
That music streaming services be
regulated like other Canadian music services.
....... 24
Recommendation
9
That
tariffs for online music services be reviewed by the Copyright Board to
ensure
royalty payments provide fair compensation for artists.................................
24
Recommendation
10
That
the Government of Canada amend the radio royalty exemption found at
section
68.1(1) of the Copyright Act so that it applies only to independent
and/or
community-based radio stations.
................................................................... 26
Recommendation
11
That the Government of Canada amend the
definition of sound recording
found in section 2 of the Copyright
Act to allow sound recordings used in
television and film to be eligible for
public performance remuneration. .................... 28
Recommendation
12
That the Government of Canada review,
clarify and/or remove exceptions
contained in the Copyright Act,
ensuring that any exception respects section 9
of the Berne Convention for the
Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, to
which Canada is a signatory.
......................................................................................
30
Recommendation
13
That the Government of Canada meet
international treaty obligations
(including Berne Convention for the
Protection of Literary and Artistic Works,
the Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights Agreement, and
World Intellectual Property
Organization Copyright Treaty).
..................................... 30
Recommendation
14
That
the Government of Canada amend subsection 14(1) of the Copyright Act
so
that it reads “from 25 years after assignment.”
..................................................... 31
Recommendation
15
That
the exception for charitable organizations in subsection 32.2(3) of the
Copyright
Act be clarified to apply strictly to activities where no commercial
monetary
gain is intended. ........................................................................................
33
Recommendation
16
That the Government of Canada extend
moral and economic rights to
audiovisual performers.
.............................................................................................
35
Recommendation
17
That the Government of Canada amend
section 34.1 of the Copyright Act to
deem the screenwriter and director the
co-owners of copyright and co-authors
of a television or cinematographic
work. ...................................................................
37
Recommendation
18
That Government of Canada amend the Act
to clarify that fair dealing should
not apply to educational institutions
when the work is commercially available. ........ 43
Recommendation
19
That the Government of Canada promote a
return to licensing through
collective societies.
....................................................................................................
43
Recommendation
20
That the Government of Canada review,
harmonize and improve the
enforcement of the statutory damages
for infringement for non-commercial
use in section 38.1(1) of the Copyright
Act. ................................................................
43
Recommendation
21
That the Government of Canada harmonize
remedies for collective societies
under the Copyright Act.
............................................................................................
43
Recommendation
22
That the Government of Canada establish an artist’s
resale right............................... 47
PS – the Committee is obviously unaware that Canada
meets or exceeds all of its international obligations as I’ve pointed out many times before,
and in many respects much more so than the USA, which is ultimate source of
much of the lobbying that went into this sadly bad report.
HPK
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