Canada Proposes Major Changes to Copyright Law

Far-reaching changes to Canada's copyright regime are proposed by the new Bill C-32, which was introduced in Parliament on June 2. The bill will affect many different aspects of copyright and has been designed to deal with the rapid technological changes of the past 20 years, particularly in the areas of information technology, digital media and, of course, the Internet. The bill also significantly enhances the concept of "user rights" in an attempt to balance the needs of large copyright owners (which tend to be concentrated in a few industries, such as media, entertainment and technology) and needs of users of copyrighted works (i.e., everyone, including both consumers and businesses). However, user rights come at a legislative cost, which is reflected in the U.S.-style anti-circumvention measures for digital-rights-management technology.