Canada celebrated
New Year's Day this year by welcoming the likes of Ernest Hemingway and
Carl Jung into the public domain just as European countries were
celebrating the arrival of James Joyce and Virginia Woolf, 20 years
after both entered the Canadian public domain. Canada's term of
copyright meets the international standard of life of the author plus
50 years, which has now become a competitive advantage when compared to
the United States, Australia, and Europe, which have copyright terms
that extend an additional 20 years (without any evidence of additional
public benefits).
In an interesting coincidence, the Canadian government filed notice
of a public consultation
on December 31, 2011 on the possible Canadian entry into the Trans
Pacific Partnership negotiations, trade talks that could result in an
extension in the term of copyright that would mean nothing new would
enter the Canadian public domain until 2032 or beyond. The TPP covers a
wide range of issues, but its intellectual property rules as
contemplated by leaked U.S. drafts would
extend the term of copyright, require even stricter digital lock rules,
restrict trade in parallel imports, and increase various infringement
penalties. As I noted
last month, if
Canada were to ratify the TPP, it would require another copyright bill
to undo much of what the government is about to enact with Bill C-11.
A
recent
study on the implications of the copyright provisions point to many
concerns including:
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Canadians are familiar with U.S. pressure on intellectual property
laws, but it is worth remembering that we are not alone. The latest
target is Spain, with new revelations
of U.S. threats of retaliation if Spain did not pass U.S. backed
copyright rules.
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The Bahamas Tribune reports
that the Copyright Royalty Tribunal, established 11 years ago, has
never paid anything to copyright holders.
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