Copyright year in review 2016
This article highlights noteworthy Canadian copyright law decisions and developments from 2016.
Bill C-11
Copyright notice and notice regime to come into force
The Government of Canada has announced that the “Notice and Notice” regime established by Bill C-11, “An Act to Amend the Copyright Act”, is expected to come into force in January 2015. The amendments will provide for a mandatory notification scheme for online copyright infringement.
Third time the charm for copyright reform?
The last copyright amendments in Canada happened in 1997, long, long before copyright piracy entered the mainstream. Now, the Conservative government will make its third attempt to update the law. Will this be their lucky time? The current bill is essentially the same as the previous effort, Bill C-32, which was thwarted after its second reading when the government fell earlier this year on a non-confidence motion. The newly elected government promised to reintroduce the amendments and pass them in short order, and here we are.
