Access Copyright: Shifting Paradigms Report

Date: 21st May 2019

From the Access Copyright news release on May 21, 2019.

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage tabled its report, Shifting Paradigms, in the House of Commons yesterday (May 15, 2019). The report focused on Remuneration Models for Artists and Creative Industries as part of the Parliamentary Review of the Copyright Act.

The full report may be found here.

Over the course of the Copyright Act review, many Access Copyright members and affiliates lent their support for copyright reform and better protections for Canadian creators and publishers by sending a letter to INDU and Heritage committee members through the I Value Canadian Stories coalition’s website. It’s true: When creators speak, politicians listen. Your efforts have made a difference.

The Shifting Paradigms report includes recommendations that – if adopted – will benefit Canadian writers, visual artists and publishers. Access Copyright commends the Committee for its recommendations, that the Government of Canada:

  • Amend the Act to clarify that fair dealing should not apply to educational institutions when the work is commercially available;
  • Promote a return to collective licensing through collective societies;
  • 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;
  • Harmonize remedies for collective societies under the Copyright Act;
  • Establish an artist’s resale right.

This is important validation for Canada’s creative and publishing industries and the concerns we’ve voiced since education was added as a fair-dealing purpose in 2012. 

The full Access Copyright statement is on their website here.


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