Image: Getty – Stacey Newman
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
Another Aspect of Canada’s Challenges
Many of our internationalist readers know that the return to power of the Liberals in Ottawa with Mark Carney as Canada’s new prime minister is most widely seen as a step in the fast-rising Canadian resistance to the United States’ Donald Trump.
As Vipal Monga writes at the Wall Street Journal, “After his promises to protect Canadian voters from US president Trump, prime minister Mark Carney must make quick work of a radical plan: decoupling Canada’s economy from its biggest trading partner and, lately, its biggest threat.”
Clearly, that’s the highest viewpoint in terms of the new electoral results.
For members of that market’s publishing industry, however, the key concern—as described by the English-language copyright management organization Access Copyright—has most recently been with Justin Trudeau’s announcement (January 6) of his impending resignation.
A sudden upheaval of the political landscape in the States’ northern neighbor has to be a challenge in any case, of course. Many interviewed in Canadian and American news coverage are talking of how interesting it is to see signals of Canadian patriotism—including a heavy showing of the national flag.
In terms of publishing, our regular readers know that Canada’s copyright regime is one of the world’s most troubled ever since falling victim to badly written legislation: Canada’s ironically named Copyright Modernization Act of 2012.
Unable to turn back many educational institutions’ willingness to take advantage of this and operate on misreadings of the “fair dealing” elements (also known as “fair use”), Canadian publishers and authors have reported that at least some CA$200 million in licensing revenue (US$144.8 million) has disappeared during the last decade.
Kate Edwards
A year ago, Kate Edwards, Access Copyright’s CEO, wrote, “After more than 10 years of consultations and promises, definitive legislation has never been more urgently needed to set clear limits on the issue of fair dealing and ensure fair remuneration for rightsholders.
“For over a decade now, Canadian creators and publishers have stressed the urgency of clarifying the issue of fair dealing in Canada. It is disappointing that ‘Budget 2024’ does not provide the tangible solutions needed to remedy this situation.
“’Since 2012, the copyright landscape has been rife with uncertainty for writers, book publishers and rights collectives,” she wrote.
And since 2012, the best efforts of her organization, the French-language counterpart Copibec, publishers’ associations, authors coalitions, and even international experts in legislative exploratory testimony have failed to get traction among the Canadian parliament’s successive governments’ members.
The New Appeal From Access Copyright
Today’s (April 29) statement from Access Copyright is titled, in part, New Parliament Must Champion Creators’ Rights to Help Safeguard Canada’s Sovereignty—perhaps with a nod to that newly observed patriotism of a Canada-under-Trumpian-stress
We have it here for you, in full:
Repairing Canada’s Copyright Framework, and Promoting Fair and Ethical AI Must Be Priorities for the Next Government of Canada.
“Access Copyright congratulates the Right Honorable Mark Carney, prime minister of Canada, on his election to parliament, and the Liberal Party of Canada on forming government.
“We call on prime minister Carney and elected officials across the political spectrum to support Canadian creators and publishers through the swift implementation of legislative and regulatory tools to meet current challenges and seize emerging opportunities.” Access Copyright“At a time when protecting and championing Canadian sovereignty will be central to the new government’s mandate, creating the conditions for creative industries to thrive is more important than ever.
“Canadian creators and publishers are vital contributors to Canadian culture and the economy. These contributions rely on a functioning copyright framework that incentivizes the production of new Canadian works, the creation of new jobs, and investment in goods and services across a wide range of related sectors.
“Furthermore, the creation of a generative artificial intelligence ecosystem that empowers creators and publishers to partner with those building GenAI tools and services to mutual benefit will require leadership and regulation on the part of government.
“Canada can and must do better in upholding the rights of creators and publishers.
“We call on prime minister Carney and elected officials across the political spectrum to support Canadian creators and publishers through the swift implementation of legislative and regulatory tools to meet current challenges and seize emerging opportunities, including:
- “Repairing Canada’s Copyright Act by clarifying existing fair dealing exceptions, including for education, so that Canadian creators and publishers are fairly compensated for the use of their published works, and
- “Developing a fair and ethical AI regulatory system in Canada that values human creation, sustains our vital cultural industries, and encourages the growth of a market for the licensing of content for GenAI purposes.
“At Access Copyright, we look forward to working in cooperation with all those re-elected or newly elected to the House of Commons to strengthen Canada’s cultural ecosystem and defend our cultural sovereignty.”
More from Publishing Perspectives on the Canadian market is here, more from us on the Copyright Modernization Act is here, more on other copyright issues in world publishing is here, and more on rights trading, its trends and issues, is here.