I work in Canada's music industry

Dear Sir/Madam,

I work in Canada's music industry. People like me support Canadian music by helping to create, promote and sell it — to fans at home and all over the world. We contribute to Canadian culture, earn a living and pay taxes. I call on the government to introduce modern, robust copyright rules without further delay.

The Government's failure to modernize the Copyright Act is costing Canada jobs and undermining Canadian culture. Music sales in Canada, the artist and industry careers they support, and the broader cultural and economic benefits they deliver, are in freefall because of unchecked Internet piracy.

By not taking action, our government has allowed a culture of piracy to thrive in Canada. Many people have lost jobs. Established musicians see their careers threatened or in ruins. Young musicians can't get their careers off the ground because no one will invest in them and everyone just takes their music. These are all taxpayers, they are voters. Many with families, many with children in school. I know a lot of them personally. And I fear the consequences — for them and me — if action is not taken soon.

The following principles, drawn directly from the government's comments on Bill C-61, should guide the upcoming copyright reform legislation:

• The rights of those who hold copyright must be fairly balanced with the needs of users to access copyright works;
• The Copyright Act must provide clear, predictable and fair rules to allow Canadians to derive benefits from their creations;
• The Copyright Act should foster innovation in an effort to attract investment and high-paying jobs to Canada; and
• Canada must ensure that its copyright framework for the Internet is in line with international standards.

At a minimum, Canada's copyright reforms must:

• Create online legal certainty to enable a robust legitimate online marketplace.
• Provide strong copyright protection that provides incentives for entrepreneurs to invest in innovative new digital business models that enhance Canadian consumer choice.
• Effectively protect creators' investments of time, money and creativity.
• Avoid vaguely-worded, open-ended or flexible exceptions to copyright that invite litigation, create legal uncertainty and deter new business models.
• Prohibit hacking of digital protections of creative works under the same principles that prohibit picking locks, hacking computers, stealing satellite signals or trafficking in break-and-enter tools.
• Modernize Canada's copyright laws in accordance with the WIPO Treaties and international best practices so Canada is in line with the European Union, the US, Japan and our other major trading partners.
• Provide clear rules against unauthorized file sharing services to ensure that Canada does not become a haven for illegitimate operations that profit from enabling the massive theft of other people's property.

This is about jobs, it is about careers and it is about culture. I am not asking the government to do anything that has not been done elsewhere in Europe and the US, where copyright laws were modernized years ago. I am demanding, for my sake, for my family's sake, for the sake of artists, that we catch up with the rest of the world.

Sincerely,

Nadun Athukorala
L. Board
Jennifer Hardy
Wayne Marshall
Andrew Carnell
Victoria Maiolo
Temi Kerr
John Jones