Copyright bill will not be introduced until 2008

Ending days of back-and-forth speculation, Industry Minister Jim Prentice officially delayed tabling proposed amendments to the Canadian Copyright Act in Parliament until 2008. Prentice's press secretary advised this morning that the bill would not be introduced today or tomorrow, the final two days until the House of Commons breaks for the holidays. The most recent saga of copyright legislation began when Prentice put the copyright bill on Monday's order paper, which usually means the bill will be tabled the following day. On Tuesday, however, an Industry spokesperson said the bill would not be introduced that day and could not confirm if it would be by end of the week, setting off speculation that Prentice was backing down in the face of public criticism of legislation that was anticipated to mirror the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act. But some who were hoping to see a copyright bill in 2007 remained optimistic. Duncan McKie, president and executive director of the Canadian Independent Record Production Association (CIRPA) told Canadian New Media Tuesday that the speculation was premature as he anticipated the bill would still be tabled by week's end. As recently as yesterday evening McKie's pronouncement seemed accurate; Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair of Internet and e-commerce law at the University of Ottawa blogged Wednesday evening that rumours in the nation's capital were that Prentice would introduce the bill this morning. Now that the bill is officially delayed, speculation can turn to what Canadians may have to gain by the extra time being taken by the government. One of Canada's most well-known fair-use advocates, Geist hopes Prentice develops a Canadian-made copyright solution. "He has an opportunity to brush aside the momentary embarrassment of the delays and instead work toward a genuine copyright balance by reaching out to all Canadians. An astonishing number of people have voiced their concern over the past two weeks and the government seems to have listened. Now it must act by openly consulting and engaging with a country that genuinely cares about copyright," blogged Geist today. Geist, of course, is being heralded as a driving force behind directing public pressure on the government. The Facebook group Fair Copyright For Canada, which he began on December 1, had more than 15,000 members by December 11, and has more than 20,000 members as of this afternoon. Rights holders, however, are not impressed. "The government's about-face decision to abandon the scheduled introduction of new Copyright legislation is a detriment to Canada's artists, and a hijacking of the policy process by a vocal minority," read a release from the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists yesterday. ACTRA is one of many groups, including CIRPA, that co-signed an op-ed in the Hill Times at the end of November calling on the government to introduce long-awaited copyright reform. Much to their disappointment, these groups will have to wait at least another month. "This government is turning its back on legislation that is long overdue. Politics must not trump policy. ACTRA holds the government to its promise for stronger safeguards for intellectual property rights it made in the Throne Speech. By not releasing the promised legislation, the government is causing further delays, and in the process shelving years of hard work," said ACTRA National executive director Stephen Waddell.

Copyright bill will not be introduced until 2008

News | 12/13/2007 6:14 pm EST

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