On July 20, 2009, Industry Minister Tony Clement and Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore launched the first Canadian public consultation on copyright policy since 2001. The consultation, which runs until September 13, 2009, provides Canadians with an exceptional opportunity to have their voice heard on the future of copyright law in Canada. I launched SpeakOutOnCopyright.ca as a platform to give people information and tools to participate in the consultation. The site includes my short response to the consultation, dozens of posts and videos on Canadian copyright law, and a Take Action page that "highlights the ways individual Canadians can speak out on copyright.
I spoke earlier today with an official at Industry Canada regarding the thousands of missing copyright consultation submissions. I was advised that there was a huge spike of submissions toward the very end of the consultation period. There were slightly over 8,100 submissions, a huge number in comparison with virtually any other government consultation in recent memory (consultations typically draw 50 to 100 responses). The government is committed to posting all submissions in HTML format due to access concerns.
For the past week, I've been receiving daily emails from Canadians asking if I know why their copyight consultation submission has not been posted. The website currently includes some submissions for every day the consultation was open (September 15th), yet there are thousands of submissions that are still not up. My last update accounted for just over 4,000 submissions and there are rumours that the final number topped 7,000 (10 times the number of submissions in the 2001 consultation).
Today is the new last day to submit to the copyright consultation with the grace period expiring at midnight. It only takes a single email to register your views. Whether you use a form letter or craft your own submission, every submission counts. More posted views and submissions include:
Throughout the copyright consultation, I've been assisted by University of Ottawa student Frances Munn, who has been tracking the discussion in the online forum (earlier updates here, here, and here). While submissions will still be accepted until midnight tonight, the discussion forum is now closed. The forum attracted over 2,000 comments with a summary posted below.
The government has just announced that there is a 48 hour extension on submissions to the copyright consultation. While the discussion forum has closed, Canadians now have until Tuesday night to submit their views on copyright. If you missed last night's deadline, there is still time to craft your own submission, use a form letter, or send out a quick email. There were many new submissions of note posted online over the weekend. They include:
An op-ed in The Mark from Queen's University Principal and Vice-Chancellor Daniel Woolf is also a must-read. Woolf focuses on four key issues:
1. Digital locks, though they may be used to stop piracy, must not impede users’ rights. 2. Fair dealing ought to be clarified and amplified. 3. Specialized exceptions ought to be used sparingly because they likely wouldn’t be able to keep up with technological change or accommodate a range of reasonable educational practices. 4. Licensing mechanisms must not be seen as a substitute for users’ rights.
The absence of an educational exemption for the Internet - as advocated by the AUCC - suggests that more of the educational community is (rightly) shifting toward fair dealing and DRM as the critical issues.
On this last day of the copyright consulation, I have been amazed by the number of people who have written recently with news of their submission posted on a blog or other site (examples here, here, here, here, here, here, and here). The government reports that they have received over 5,000 submissions, but it is clear that number is going be higher by the end of the day.
One of my favourite submissions comes from Wallace McLean, who focuses on public domain, archival, and photography issues. While the submission is not yet online, he was kind enough to grant permission to post the charts below. The first tracks the cumulative number sections of the Copyright Act that have been amended, added or repealed. The second shows the cumulative number of copyright bills that have been introduced in Canada. I think both charts speak for themselves - far from being an archaic law that never changes, copyright law in Canada has undergone considerable change, with the most dramatic reforms occurring over the past two decades. The end of the consultation signals that these charts will continue to grow in the coming months, making it more important than ever to ensure that you speak out on copyright today (literally today).
For the past several weeks, I have been summarizing the thousands of copyright consultation submissions. With only three days left in the consultation, it is time to post my full submission (a short version was posted at the very start of the consultation). It can be downloaded in PDF form or viewed below. It only takes a single email to register your views. Whether you use a form letter or craft your own submission, every submission counts. Speak out on copyright today.
Industry Minister Tony Clement has re-affirmed earlier comments that the introduction of a new copyright bill may take until the Spring 2010. In a Toronto Star interview, Clement emphasizes the need to establish a bill that withstands the test of time and that he'd like a bill this fall but is content to put it off until February or March if needed.
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Although the government has still not posted the transcripts from the final two copyright roundtables, all ten have now been completed. In all, 111 groups and individuals participated. As the chart below shows, the music and publishing industries led the way with the most representatives, followed by film/movie, creators, collectives, libraries, and academics. Most groups appeared once, the exceptions being ACTRA and the Songwriters Association of Canada (twice each).
Number of Appearances
Groups/Individuals
8
Music Industry
Publishers
7
Film/Movie
Copyright Collectives
Performers, Artists and Writers
Library
Academics
ISPs
6
Civil Society
Students
5
Business Groups
Education
Other
4
Musicians/Songwriters
Museums
Broadcasters
Lawyers
2
First Nations Groups
Photographers
Software
Internet companies
1
Archivists
Blind
The top issues raised during the roundtables mirror the issues discussed in the thousands of submissions that have been posted online. These include fair dealing, WIPO ratification, the approach on anti-circumvention, and ISP liability. Other notable issues included crown copyright, statutory damages, and subject specific recommendations for photographers, archivists, and museums. A full summary of key messages is posted below.
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