The Canadian Copyright Act and Bill C-11

Melanie Cassidy -- Seminar Group 6, The Li-BRAT-bians -- Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Summary of Readings

Geist, Michael. Introduction. From Radical

Extremism to Balanced Copyright: Canadian
Copyright and the Digital Agenda. By Geist. Toronto:
Irwin Law, 2010. Web. January 22 2013.

Geist alludes to the major changes proposed in Bill C-32

without going into detail on any of them. He also provides a
break-down of the different sections in his book, which is
helpful in placing the chapter by Carys Craig into context.

Craig, Carys. Locking Out Lawful Users: Fair Dealing

and Anti-Circumvention in Bill C-32 including
preceding Creative Commons Legal code. From
Radical Extremism to Balanced Copyright:
Canadian Copyright and the Digital Agenda. Toronto:
Irwin Law, 2010. Web. January 22 2013.

Craigs chapter takes a critical view of some of the proposed

amendments in Bill C-32, including her unhappiness with the
power of TPMs to trump any fair dealing rights, and the toorestrictive view of what is allowable under fair dealing.

Bill C-32, An Act to amend the Copyright Act.

Parliament of Canada. n.d. Web. January 22 2013.
< http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/
Publication.aspx?DocId=5401532&Language=E&Mode
=1&Parl=41&Ses=1 >
Bill C-11: Copyright Modernization Act. First Session.
Forty-first Parliament. [Ottawa]: Library of Parliament,
2012. Parliament of Canada. Web. January 22 2013.
Copyright at UBC. University of British Columbia, n.d.
Web. January 22 2013.

Also notable is the creative commons license you are

required to agree to before reading Craigs chapter. In
licensing the work under creative commons, Craig shows
that she practices what she preaches.
Briefs presented to the House of Commons from special
interest groups or people, suggesting criticism and
commentary on Bill C-32. An interesting cross-section of
perspectives and needs.
Major amendments to the Act include expanding the
definition for fair dealing usage to include education, parody
or satire, and the use of TPMs on copyrighted materials.
An overview of Bill C-11 and how it impacts UBC faculty,
students, and staff.

Fair Dealing

The above comic is a strip from Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton (http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=275)
published here with permission. How does Beatons use of a copyrighted character align with the Canadian Copyright
Acts fair dealing provisions? Without Beatons permission, would my use of this comic constitute fair dealing according to
Bill C-11? Are the requirements/grounds for fair dealing in C-11 too vague or too specific (or just right)? With the passing
of C-11 into law, what changes (if any) will information professionals need to be cognizant of?

Anti-Circumvention Measures
The comic to the right is a strip from xkcd by
Randall Munro (http://xkcd.com/488), released
under a creative commons license (CC BY-NC 2.5).
Bill C-11 states that users who have legally
obtained copyrighted materials have the right to
make copies or backups for their own private use,
unless they must circumvent technological
protection measures (TPM) to do so. Does this
align with the Copyright Acts attempts to strike a
balance between the rights of users and
producers? What are some negative implications
of the act as it currently stands, with regard to
TPMs? On the flip side, if TPMs were prohibited
or discouraged, what negative implications would
result (if any)?

Activity Time!
Below is a blank strip from Dinosaur Comics by Ryan North (http://www.qwantz.com/peoplearecool2.php), published
here with permission. Please complete the comic by summarizing your understanding of either Fair Dealing or AntiCircumvention Measures as they are laid out in Bill C-11. Be as critical or as unbiased as you like!