Canadians (and others interested or who want to be Canadian :D) - New Copyright law

[dcsang]

For those that want to know; the Federal Government has, today, tabled legislation to amend the Copyright Act here in Canada. It is being done to accommodate the "digital age".

The Act itself has not been amended since inception (to the best of my knowledge) and this will have some impact for photographers in the sense that one of the changes is along the lines of the following:

you could copy a book, newspaper or photograph that you "legally acquired." But you couldn't give away the copies. And you can't make copies of materials you have borrowed.

(from this article: http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/442126)

I'm sure there's more in the actual Act (if I can find it) but it looks like this will be (or could be) beneficial with the caveat that you, the photographer, is going to have to chase after everyone yourself (or your lawyer will have to).

Just as an FYI 😀

Cheers
Dave

 

[vladhed]

This (or at least the snippet you've quoted) is the way it has always been (c.f. Leslie Harris' book on Canadian Copyright).

In Canada, part of the price you pay for a copyrighted work is a license to "use" the work (read book, listen to music, watch movie, look at photograph). You have the right to make "backups" of your copyrighted work (rip CD, photocopy book). You also have the right to temporarily transfer those rights to someone else (e.g. lend book to friend - or in the case of a library, to a patron). Now because I have the rights to use the CD my friend lent me, according to the act I can make a backup copy, which I'm suppose to destory or keep with the original when I give it back or pass it on - but there is no specific clause about this and hence this part of the law is unenforcible.

It is specific about lending the "backup" - that is illegal.