Most (But Not All) Of The Copyright Modernization Act Comes Into Force In Canada

On November 7, 2012, upon the publication in the Canada Gazette of an Order-in-Council dated October 25, 2012, most (but not all) of the provisions of the Copyright Modernization Act (the "Act") came into force in Canada. The Act amends the Copyright Act of Canada and it represents the first major reform of Canadian copyright law since 1997 and follows no less than four prior failed Canadian government attempts at substantially revising the Copyright Act, namely, in 2006 (Bill C- 60, died on the order paper), 2008 (Bill C-61, died on the order paper), 2010 (Bill C-32, died on the order paper) and 2011 (Bill C-11, which died as a result of a Canadian federal election and was re-introduced by the ruling Conservatives in 2012 and eventually received Royal Assent on June 29, 2012).