Tories Quietly Slip Tougher Copyright Rule Into Budget

The Harper government has introduced an extension of copyright terms as part of the federal budget, in a move that is likely a prelude to Canada signing a major new trade deal.

The budget tabled yesterday includes a measure that will extend copyright protection on audio recordings to 70 years as of the recording’s release, from the current 50 years.

The move has received praise from some corners of the music industry, including from famed crooners Leonard Cohen and Bruce Cockburn.

"The world has changed since our original copyright laws were drafted. Every piece of music is, at least theoretically, with us forever. Extending the copyright term is an eminently sensible response to this new situation and a welcome one," Cockburn reportedly said.

Cohen argued that the current copyright term isn't good enough for older artists, noting that his own songs recorded in the 1960s will soon be off copyright under Canadian law.

Even Randy Bachman of Bachman Turner Overdrive praised the move, despite last year getting into a spat with Prime Minister Stephen Harper over the government's use of BTO's "Taking Care of Business" as music for a speech, reportedly without getting permission.

But consumer rights activists are coming out against it. The change to Canada's copyright law came "despite no study, no public demands, and the potential cost to the public of millions of dollars," e-commerce law professor Michael Geist blogged.

"Experience elsewhere suggests that the extension is a windfall for record companies, with little benefit to artists or the public. In fact, many countries that have implemented the extension have been forced to do so through trade or political agreements, while signalling their opposition along the way."

The copyright change matches what has been reportedly a demand of U.S. negotiators in talks over the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal being negotiated between Canada and 11 Pacific Rim countries, including Japan and the U.S.

According to unconfirmed reports earlier this year, Canada and other countries caved to a controversial U.S. demand to extend copyright terms to 70 years.

Though the global standard has traditionally been a 50-year copyright term, the U.S. has had a 70-year term since the late 1990s. The law was the result of heavy lobbying from copyright holders, particularly Disney, which is why the copyright law has been dubbed the “Mickey Mouse Protection Act” by critics.

Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.ca/
Author:  Daniel Tencer