Creators form new alliance to make voice heard on copyright, trade issues

The interests of producers and creators have diverged too much for the groups to lobby together on copyright and culture issues, making it necessary for artists and others to form their own coalition, says a former chair of the Writer’s Union of Canada. The resulting organization, the Creators Rights Alliance (CRA), was founded in Montreal on April 29/30 to lobby on behalf of 27 different artists representative associations and collectives on the issues of world trade talks and domestic copyright issues. Susan Crean, a former head of the Writers Union of Canada, says that while creators and producers worked closely together on the previous round of copyright reform in 1996, the focus has shifted from users unaware that the use of works had copyright restrictions, to more modern-day concerns about exploitation of creative works by producers and distributors without appropriate compensation to writers and other artists. Originally conceived about two years ago, the group is expected to provide creators with a common means to educate themselves about international trade issues such as those raised by the 1994 Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights agreement. Its members have, for example, been pushing for a new international trade agreement or instrument that would guarantee the right of countries to establish cultural policies beneficial to their own industries. While international issues have dominated the cultural agenda and will form the main thrust of the CRA’s activities, Crean says it’s unlikely the organization will be able to ignore domestic issues such as copyright reform. "I don’t know how politically we’ll get into it, but we might just be pushed into it." While the CRA, which will ultimately represent thousands of visual artists, writers, photographers and other creators (with the exception of software coders), has a full plate of issues before it, Crean says one of the top priorities will be education efforts. "One of the main things we have to do, because we can’t afford as a community to do it individually, is find a way to become informed collectively and expand that knowledge." For example, she says creators have not traditionally dealt with competition law or that legislation’s keeper, Industry Canada. "We’re not on the radar screens in some of those departments. We haven’t had the resources to develop ourselves on the ‘Net and in the digital world in the way we should. We’re a long way behind the eight ball on that." The CRA will be composed of three caucuses, one each for French and English Canada, as well as one that will study issues related to Aboriginal Canadians. The Writers’ Union of Canada, League of Canadian Poets and Playwrights’ Union of Canada, each of which will be part of the new coalition organization, did respond to Canadian Heritage’s invitation to comment on proposed Copyright Act changes last summer. In its submission, the groups encouraged the federal government to ratify the World Intellectual Property Organization treaty and enact new suitable copyright provisions with as few exceptions as possible. A preview of the CRA’s position on copyright reform is likely seen in the submission document. It reads: "It is our observation that as opportunities are developing for new rights – rights which can be exploited both by individual authors and their collective societies – the assumption is often that these new rights should be transferred to and administered by producers. This is appropriate where willing creators are able to negotiate a fair return for these new rights, but many producers are claiming these rights without offering fair financial arrangements even before it has become clear what ‘normal exploitation’ may be in a digital world." Initial financing for the organization, Crean says, is coming from various arts councils, the Canada Council for the Arts, and Canadian Heritage.

Creators form new alliance to make voice heard on copyright, trade issues

Broadcast | May 1, 2002

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