The Copyright Modernization Act: Canada’s New Rights And Rules - November 2012

Background

Following years of attention and debate over issues such as "digital locks", "users' rights" and whether and how Canada is keeping up with other countries in protecting copyright, Canada's Copyright Modernization Act (the "CMA") entered into force on November 7, 2012.

Rapid advances in the use of digital media to access, use, share, and copy works led to increased pressure to overhaul Canada's copyright legislation, which had not been significantly revised since the last general amendments in 1997. Over the years, the government conducted various stakeholder consultations and put forward four separate bills, all with the intention of better aligning Canada's legislation with the international standards set forth in two 1996 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) treaties, and with the evolving digital environment.