Copyright? Wrong!

Last week, the Canadian government proposed updates to the Copyright Act which until now, has remained unchanged for over ten years. The tabled amendments outlined within this Copyright Reform Act (Bill C-61) were introduced by Industry Minister Jim Prentice and Heritage Minister Josée Verner, defended with the promise of offering consumers greater access and copying capabilities, while ensuring the protection of copyrighted content for authors/creators.

The proposed Act has sparked great debate among Canadian consumers, particularly those who have read and fully understand the detailed amendments. While it is the claim of the responsible Ministers that the Bill will result in greater access rights for members of households, offices and educational settings, it is rather the content creators that would be granted increased protection rights, putting consumers at greater risk of Copyright infringement.

Interestingly, an item receiving extensive focus and praise from the government is Section 32, exempting non-profit organizations from Copyright adherence. While it is admittedly important for blind and partially sighted consumers to receive audio formatted books if desired, ordering such materials through specialized libraries for the blind is no longer the only option in order to meet professional, educational and leisure needs. Many blind and partially sighted consumers, myself included, are currently making great use of accessible commercial and public sites for the purpose of downloading and copying available books, offering individuals greater choice, and opening the market to mainstream print publishers.

If you have not yet done so, I encourage you to educate yourself on this proposed Act, and consider whether it will translate into greater consumer rights, or will in fact result in greater consumer “wrongs”. I look forward to learning and informing readers of the governments decision!