Copyright Reform Legislation Introduced

Article by Tony Turco and Alex Matheson, ©2005 Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

This article was originally published in Blakes Bulletin on Intellectual Property, October 2005.

On June 20, 2005, the Canadian Government introduced a bill which proposes significant amendments to the Copyright Act (Bill C-60) and represents the next step in Canada’s ongoing copyright reform. The amendments focus primarily on the challenges that the Internet and digital technologies pose for copyright law.

A number of the proposed changes would implement protections found in two WIPO treaties, the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, which Canada has signed but has yet to ratify. It is expected that Canada will ratify these treaties once the Copyright Act has been amended to bring it into conformity with the treaties’ requirements.