The Japanese government is reportedly considering extending its term of copyright protection from the international standard of life plus 50 years to life plus 70 years as required by drafts of the Trans Pacific Partnership. The issue seems likely to similarly arise in Canada, which also maintains a life plus […]
Fair Dealing by Giulia Forsythe (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/dRkXwP
Copyright
Ontario Government Emphasizes User Rights in its Copyright Policy for Education
The Government of Ontario’s Ministry of Education has issued a policy memorandum to all provincial elementary and secondary schools regarding the use of copyright-protected works for education. The government’s approach, which takes effect immediately, represents a strong endorsement of users’ rights, citing not only fair dealing but over a dozen additional educational exceptions that are now part of Canadian copyright law.
The government adopts fair dealing guidelines developed by the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada, which largely covers the same copying permitted under an Access Copyright licence. The guidelines, which permit copying of up to 10 percent of a work, a single article, or a chapter from a book, state:
“The Miracle in Marrakesh”: Agreement Reached on a Treaty for the Visually Impaired
After years of discussions and repeated efforts to thwart or water down a treaty for the visually impaired, delegates in Morocco reached agreement late Tuesday on a treaty. A draft of the text is available here.
The Motion Picture Association’s Fight Against a Treaty to Support the Visually Impaired
Earlier this month, I wrote about a diplomatic conference in Morocco designed to finalize a much-needed copyright treaty for the visually impaired. The column noted that the treaty seeks to do two things: first, it establishes minimum standards for copyright limitations and exceptions for the visually impaired. Second, the treaty would facilitate the export of accessible works.
The conference is now in its second week with growing fears that there will be no deal. The major hold-out appears to be the United States, which is blocking consensus on a range of issues. According to documents released over the weekend, the primary source of the U.S. opposition comes from the motion picture association, which has engaged in months of behind-the-scenes lobbying designed to dismantle the treaty. For example, the MPA is trying to block the inclusion of a fair use/fair dealing provision, despite the fact that many countries (led by the U.S.) already have such a rule.
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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