Copyright extensions side-by-side with innovations in new Archives/Library bill

A bill to merge the National Library of Canada and the National Archives of Canada into a single institution could wind up extending the term of copyright protection for some of Lucy Maud Montgomery's works (CNM, Oct. 16/02). Buried within Bill C-36's administrative housekeeping are several amendments to the Copyright Act, including one to extend until the end of 2017 the copyright on unpublished works for authors who died between Dec. 31, 1929 and Jan. 1, 1949. Bill C-36, tabled in the House of Commons on May 8, is also notable for another change to the Copyright Act that would extend to the new institution the right to periodically take a "representative sample of the documentary material of interest to Canada that is accessible to the public without restriction through the Internet or any similar medium." Toward that end, the bill proposes several changes to section 30.5 of the Copyright Act to explicitly state that said sampling won't be a violation of copyright. On May 12, the Copyright Policy Branch of Canadian Heritage circulated a note to explain the two measures. Internet snapshot" head of the new institution will be granted new powers to take periodic snapshots of web sites which are of interest to Canada and which are accessible without restrictions," the note reads. "This may be done in order to preserve these cultural legacies for the benefit of historians. Because electronic publications and web sites may be stored on ephemeral media, the institutions may need to store them on durable media, thus making a copy. Exceptions to the Copyright Act are being proposed in order to allow the Library and Archives Canada to preserve these time capsules by making a copy on a stable medium. These exceptions will apply only to the new institution and for preservation purposes." The necessary changes to the Act have thus far proven uncontroversial and it's unlikely that they will meet any opposition, though some librarians and archivists with whom Canadian NEW MEDIA has spoken say the plan will create some initial speed bumps as internal matters such as whether the captures will be treated as "records" or "documents" need to be sorted out. Meeting some early resistance, on the other hand, are the proposed copyright extensions. Michael Geist, a digital copyright law expert and editor of the BNA Internet Law News, has already dubbed Bill C-36 the "Lucy Maud Montgomery Act" for the proposed extensions that seem to play directly into the hands of the heirs of the P.E.I. novelist. Consultations on extensions Prior to the passing in 1997 of Bill C-32, unpublished works enjoyed perpetual copyright protection. Under pressure from librarians and archivists, the unlimited terms were removed and the works of Montgomery were due to come into the public domain on Jan. 1, 2004. Lobbying by Montgomery's heirs last fall appears to have paid off. In its May 12 circular, the department notes: " heirs of certain Canadian authors voiced concerns that the law does not allow for sufficient time to exploit these unpublished works. Following recent consultations with representatives of the Canadian Historical Association, the Bureau of Canadian Archivists, the National Archives of Canada and the Writers Union of Canada, a consensus was reached regarding a possible amendment…Following a broad consultation over the Internet with all copyright stakeholders, it was confirmed that this proposal has broad support." So far, there has been little public outcry or organized response to the proposed extensions or to the overall legislation and it's likely the bill will be expedited through the Parliamentary process.

Copyright extensions side-by-side with innovations in new Archives/Library bill

Broadcast | May 15, 2003

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