Copyright Modernization Act

Copyright Modernization Act
Parliament of Canada
An Act to amend the Copyright Act
Citation	S.C. 2012, c. 20
Territorial extent	Canada
Enacted by	House of Commons of Canada
Date passed	18 June 2012
Enacted by	Senate of Canada
Date passed	29 June 2012
Date of Royal Assent	29 June 2012
Date commenced	7 November 2012
Legislative history
Bill citation	C-11, 41st Parliament, 1st Session
Introduced by	Minister of Industry and Minister of State (Agriculture) Christian Paradis
First reading	29 September 2011
Second reading	13 February 2012
Third reading	18 June 2012
First reading	18 June 2012
Second reading	21 June 2012
Third reading	29 June 2012
Summary
Legislative Summary
Status: In force

An Act to amend the Copyright Act, also known as Bill C-11 or the Copyright Modernization Act, was introduced in the House of Commons of Canada on September 29, 2011 by Industry Minister Christian Paradis. It was virtually identical to the government's previous attempt to amend the Copyright Act, Bill C-32. Despite receiving unanimous opposition from all other parties, the Conservative Party of Canada was able to pass the bill due to their majority government. The bill received Royal Assent on June 29, 2012 becoming the first update to the Copyright Act since 1997.

Bill C-11's anti-circumvention provisions have been called "the most restrictive in the world" and student groups compared it to the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act that was proposed in the United States. Ottawa lawyer Kathleen Simmons stated "If we take out the digital lock provisions, the bill appears to be very balanced. It introduces some additional protection for different rights holders and performers but it’s also introducing a lot of user-friendly exceptions." After the Copyright Modernization Act passed, debates over its digital lock provisions continued in House discussions on Bill C-56, the Combating Counterfeit Products Act.

The Act contained many significant provisions. It:

During its consideration, the bill drew negative reactions from the US-based International Intellectual Property Alliance, which represents industries in movie, music, and software. In particular, the IIPA took issue with the "notice-and-notice" approach that only requires internet service providers to forward infringement notices to their subscribers, which it claims “fails to provide meaningful incentives for network service providers to co-operate with copyright owners to deal with copyright infringements that take place in the digital network environment.” and said it will urge the U.S government to pressure Canada for more reforms as part of the negotiations for Canada's entry into Trans Pacific Partnership free trade agreement. It also wanted Canada to repeal sections that limit statutory damages to a maximum of $5,000 for non-commercial infringement, claiming that the cap renders statutory damages “ineffective in achieving its goals of full compensation and deterrence in the online environment.”

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