The Bill C-11 legislative committee concluded
its clause-by-clause review yesterday as eight government amendments
were added to the bill and all opposition amendments were defeated. The
amendments included an expanded enabler provision and some modest
tinkering to other elements of the bill. There are still several steps
needed before the bill passes including third reading at the House of
Commons, Senate review, and ultimately royal assent, but Canadian
copyright reform is well on its way to completion before the summer
starts.
In the days leading up to the clause-by-clause review, many focused on three key
issues:
no SOPA-style amendments such as website blocking or warrantless
disclosure of information, maintaining the fair dealing balance found
in the bill, and amending the digital lock provisions. By that
standard, the changes could have been a lot worse. The government
expanded the enabler provision, though not as broadly as CIMA
requested. Virtually all other copyright lobby demands - website
blocking, notice-and-takedown, iPod tax, copyright term extension,
disclosure of subscriber information - were rejected. Moreover, the
provisions supported by consumer and education groups including user
generated content protection, time shifting, format shifting, backup
copies, Internet provider liability, and statutory damages reform were
left untouched. This represents a major victory for the many Canadians
and groups such as Open
Media that spoke out on these issues.
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