The Federal Court of Appeal today issued an important decision confirming the broad scope of fair dealing in Canada [link not yet available]. At issue was whether "research" within fair dealing could extend to song previews that are made available on sites like iTunes where a consumer can freely listen to roughly 30 seconds of a song. The Copyright Board of Canada ruled in 2007 that a broad and liberal interpretation of fair dealing meant that it could be included since the preview was effectively consumer research on whether to purchase the song. SOCAN disagreed and sought judicial review.
The Federal Court of Appeal has affirmed the Copyright Board's interpretation, opening the door to many other consumer research possibilities under the current fair dealing provision. While SOCAN argued that research should be limited to scientific-type inquiry in a formal setting, the court disagreed, stating:
