ARCHIVED — Michael Visser

COPYRIGHT REFORM PROCESS

SUBMISSIONS RECEIVED REGARDING THE CONSULTATION PAPERS

---

Documents received have been posted in the official language in which they were submitted. All are posted as received by the departments, however all address information has been removed.

---

Submission from Michael Visser received on September 14, 2001 via e-mail

Subject: copyright reform

Industry Canada,

I am writing in response to your request for input on reforms to the Copyright Act.

The current Copyright Act is seriously deficient in its treatment of photographers. Canada is the only major signatory to the Berne Convention that fails to grant natural copyright to photographers.

The result of this is that I, and thousands of other Canadian photographers, are placed at a competitive disadvantage. As a result of WIPO agreements on copyright, to which Canada is a signatory, foreign photographers actually have more rights and better copyright protection in Canada than Canadian photographers. Needless to say, this is a bizarre state of affairs.

This problem is magnified in the international digital world, where images and information flow freely across borders. Current Canadian copyright law places me at a disadvantage in competing internationally, since I do not own the natural copyright to my own work. My ability to display my own work on the Internet, even for information or portfolio purposes, depends on the goodwill of my clients. My rights to license or re-use my work are also seriously compromised.

It is time that the Government of Canada recognized that our out-dated laws are hobbling the ability of Canadian photographers to compete intenationally. Worse still, these laws effectively make us second class citizens in our own country.

I would urge you to grant the same rights to photographers as are enjoyed by other creative professionals in this country. Please change the Copyright Act to give us full ownership of our own work.

Yours truly,

Michael Visser
(address removed)