In the Fall 2008 issue of Words & Music, under the heading “A New Copyright Bill, but will it ever be enacted?” my comments on the then-proposed Bill C-61 concluded:

“In the end, however, the bill may never be enacted for a number of reasons, the primary one being the fact that we have a minority government with a limited amount of time available before the next election to consider such a complex, controversial bill. That being said, copyright reform will happen at some point in the future and, as always, SOCAN will be vigilant in making sure the rights it administers are protected.”

As predicted, that bill died due to the election in October 2008, and we are still awaiting the tabling of a new bill. In the meantime, as part of the copyright-amendment process announced by the government of Canada early this year, SOCAN took part in the nation-wide Copyright Consultation process, attending various events organized by the government and making its interests known to decision-makers. But we still do not have a proposed law to respond to specifics.

Why does this process take so long? It has been more than 10 years since the last time the law was amended. Copyright reform continues to be controversial, it can be divisive and it is certainly more complex and technical than ever before. But what has changed from previous amendment processes?

One factor is technology. Technology has provided both threats and opportunities for creators and consumers, but dealing with changes in legislation where words don’t change can be challenging. That is why it is preferable to make laws “technology neutral.” Another reason is that some sectors of the public and those who purport to speak for that part of the public have now entered the debate. Some of these spokespersons passionately believe that authors’ rights should make way for “users’ rights.” However, while consumers have rights, creators do, too, the primary one being the right to compensation when their works are used in some way.

That said, SOCAN continues to await the new legislation. When it is tabled, we will ensure the interests of our members are protected.

Uploaded Winter 2009

Comments? Questions? Suggestions?
Send them to Rick MacMillan, Words & Music Corporate Editor, at wordsandmusic@socan.ca