Canadian Heritage Memorandum, December 8, 2020, ATIP A-2020-00498

Canadian Heritage Memorandum, December 8, 2020, ATIP A-2020-00498

Bill C-10

Canada – EU Trade Agreement Reached “In Principle”, Part Two: The Intellectual Property Provisions

Intellectual property was one of the most contentious aspects of the CETA negotiations, with copyright, patents, and geographic indications all sources of concern. A summary of the impact of CETA on each is posted below (additional posts on the need to release the text and the telecom and e-commerce provisions).

Copyright

Early CETA drafts included extensive copyright provisions that would have rendered Canadian copyright law virtually unrecognizable from its current state.  The EU position on copyright changed after two developments in 2012. First, Canada passed long-awaited copyright reform that addressed several concerns, most notably legal protection for digital locks and ISP liability. Second, the EU abandoned many of the remaining demands after the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly in July 2012 to reject Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, striking a major blow to the hopes of supporters who envisioned a landmark agreement that would set a new standard for intellectual property rights enforcement. â€¨

The resulting copyright provisions appear benign, as the government is claiming that CETA is consistent with current Canadian law:

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October 18, 2013 2 comments News

CRTC Ruling a Small Step Toward Broadcast Overhaul

Appeared in the Toronto Star on August 10, 2013 as CRTC Television Ruling a Small Step Toward Broadcast Overhaul Coverage of last week’s Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission ruling on mandatory carriage of a couple of dozen channels may have focused on the future of the Sun News Network (no […]

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August 15, 2013 Comments are Disabled Columns Archive

Canadian Government Maps Plan for Future Intellectual Property Reform

The House of Commons may have adjourned for the summer, but just hours before breaking, the government filed its response to the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology’s report on the Intellectual Property Regime in Canada. That may sound dry, but the document provides a clear indication of what the government has planned for the coming years on IP reform.

  So what’s in store? Leaving aside an assortment of promised studies, the government response includes five notable plans (or non-plans).  

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June 20, 2013 2 comments News

Anti-Counterfeiting ACTA Bill Referred to Industry Committee

Bill C-56, the anti-counterfeiting bill that opens the door the Canadian implementation of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, has been referred to the Industry Committee for review. The government imposed time allocation on the bill to move it to committee. The debate on the bill yesterday suggested that all parties support […]

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June 13, 2013 3 comments News

Canadian ACTA Compliance Bill Inches Forward

Earlier this year, Industry Minister Christian Paradis introduced a bill aimed at ensuring that Canada complies with the discredited Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. The bill raises a host of concerns including granting border guards increased powers without court oversight or review. The bill had not been heard from since its introduction, […]

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May 31, 2013 7 comments News