Further public consultations on copyright reform unlikely

Stakeholders are frustrated with Industry Canada's closed-door approach to drafting amendments to Canada's Copyright Act, saying Industry minister Jim Prentice has ignored requests to open the process to a public process involving all legitimate parties. "The consultation question just strikes us as such a no-brainer right now I'm surprised the government didn't opt for that route," says David Fewer, staff counsel at the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC). "I'm a little disappointed that we're not seeing that movement." After Prentice delayed tabling the much-anticipated copyright bill amendments in December, CIPPIC sent a letter to the Industry minister and minister of Canadian Heritage Josée Verner calling on the government to hold consultations with all stakeholders with an interest in copyright policy. "Copyright is not special interest legislation, but rather a regime that touches on diverse interests," wrote Fewer. "Accordingly, consultation on copyright should take particular care to reach the full range of stakeholders that will be affected by amendments under consideration."Fewer has yet to receive a response from Industry. "It's early days yet," he adds. "This government, post Christmas anyway, hasn't said boo about copyright, so there's lots of time available to come up with a good route forward."Considering that an election may soon be at hand, Fewer may be overly optimistic. Industry spokesperson Deirdra McCracken says consultations have already taken place. " are working closely together on a package that will be introduced in Parliament, and has said very clearly that what they are striving to achieve is a balance between the rights of creators and the rights of consumers," she tells Canadian New Media. "When he has a bill in hand that satisfies those criteria he will be able to introduce it in the House of Commons."The consultation she refers to took place in 2001 and 2002 under the former Liberal government. Ottawa-based Internet consultant Russell McOrmond attended those meetings, where he says the majority sentiment was do not ratify the WIPO treaties. However, all Industry has revealed about the upcoming copyright bill is it will bring Canada into compliance with the WIPO. He's concerned that politics is now trumpeting policy when it comes to copyright reform."We're at a stage where the policy is gone," says McOrmond. "This is all about politics. It's all about confusing people that what's black is white and what's white is green, so it's very, very frustrating."Even though far more people showed up to the 2001-02 consultations than expected, McOrmond says that number would be trivial compared to the number who would attend a new round of consultations. And, as Fewer points out, "Five years is a long time in the life of the Internet." Even without an open consultation, Industry isn't lacking for reading material. On January 18, Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart issued a letter to Prentice and Verner expressing concern "about possible changes to the Act authorizing the use of technical mechanisms to prevent copyright infringement that could have a negative impact on the privacy rights of Canadians."On January 22, the Creators Copyright Coalition (CCC), an alliance of 16 professional rights holders associations, issued its Platform on the Revision of Copyright. Two days later, Canada's privacy community, which includes CIPPIC and McOrmond's Flora.ca, released its open letter on copyright. The ministers can also avail themselves of the numerous op-ed pieces appearing in other media, including one from Microsoft in this week's The Hill Times saying Canada's current copyright legislation is out of step with the international community. Although McOrmond claims there isn't a "shred of truth" in the Microsoft article, he worries about the influence of such a successful company with both politicians and creators groups. He adds that many creators groups may lack the technical knowledge to fully understand the potential impact of policies they are pushing. The Songwriters Association of Canada (SAC) is one of the creators groups that signed the CCC platform. The SAC also made news in November by proposing legalizing music file-sharing by attaching a levy on Internet subscriptions. In an email to CNM, acting SAC president Eddie Schwartz outlines how the association is dealing with the extended delay in the tabling of the copyright legislation. "We at the SAC are becoming more proactive in our interaction with other stakeholder groups inside and outside the music business, including consumer groups and government, in order to find balanced solutions to the challenging environment for copyright today," writes Schwartz.Many stakeholders hope the government is doing the same.

Further public consultations on copyright reform unlikely

News | February 7, 2008

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