Archived - Bayon, Lydia

I am an individual who is worried that my work will be lost because today’s copyright laws offer so little protection. I am a voter who believes strongly that creators should have the right to be paid for their work.

Canada’s Copyright Act needs to be reformed because…With mass unauthorised downloading, legitimate sales of digital goods such as movies, music and software have been gravely eroded. Under the current law, there is no clarity about what is – and is not – acceptable for Canadian consumers on the Internet.In the absence of clear rules, businesses here are less willing to develop new digital distribution services because they lack confidence they can earn a return on their investment. By failing to take action, our government has allowed a culture of piracy to thrive in Canada

I want the upcoming copyright reforms to follow the principles outlined by the government for Bill C-61:

• 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.
• 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.
• 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 or stealing satellite signals.
• Modernize Canada’s copyright laws in accordance with the WIPO Treaties and international best practices so Canada is in line with the EU, 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.

Canada is years behind its trading partners in reforming copyright laws for the digital age. The time has come for Canada to catch up with the rest of the world.

Thank the Government for the opportunity to provide input on these issues of critical importance to you, your co-workers and your family. Reiterate how these issues are directly important to you because they affect your livelihood.