(For some insight into copyright reform in Canada, I’ve reposted–with permission of the author–a recent article by Canadian Attorney, Jeffrey F. Vicq.)

A fascinating though somewhat sleepy area of the law, copyright reform has garnered a great deal of attention in the last several years. In 2005, the governing Liberals introduced a copyright reform bill that died when a federal election was called. The Conservative party made copyright reform part of their 2006 election campaign platform; after taking office, their October 2007 Throne Speech promised that copyright reform would be part of the government’s agenda for that year. The government subsequently indicated a bill would be introduced in December.

However, copyright law advocates quickly mobilized a campaign against the planned legislation, suspicious that the bill would undermine the “fair use” rights of citizens. Seemingly fearful of public backlash, Industry Minister Jim Prentice decided not to introduce the bill until the legislation was in a form he “could take pride of,” striking a balance between “consumer interests, the interests of creators and users and all of that.”

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