Canadian copyright lawyers have been banging their head against the wall for a couple of years now and CanadaFashionLaw hopes that this little bit of news will alleviate their headache!
You see, for years now, Canada has been trying to give its Copyright Act a little nip and tuck. The Copyright Act was created in the 1920s and, as you can imagine, was a little out of touch with today's digital age reality. There have been many attempts at revising the Act but each attempt has failed due to election calls.
Finally, it looks like Bill C-11, otherwise known as the Copyright Modernization Act, is here to stay!!! The Bill has been passed by the Canadian government and given the Royal Assent.
The Bill looks to tackle technological issues that affect copyright owners and users, such as internet search providers, user generated content mash-ups and 'digital locks'. The Bill also looks to equalize photographers rights with those of other artists. Also, exceptions to infringement have been expanded to include parody, satire and education.
So what happens now? Well, as any fashionista knows, we may buy a shoe in the right size but we still have to work in it and iron out the kinks. The same can be said of legislative change. There will be a period of trial and error in applying the letter of the law to practical situations.