Free at Last.....Free at last
Canadian Copyright Revision
Today, after many years of lobbying by the Professional Photographers of Canada (PPOC) (www.ppoc.ca) and the Canadian Association of Photographers and Illustrators (CAPIC) (www.capic.org) have worked together to repeal section 13 (2) of the Canadian Copyright Act.
Photographers outside (and some inside) Canada will be shocked to hear that in Canada the copyright for assignment photography goes to the hiring agency by default. Yep, unlike the rest of the civilized world, unless you have a contract that specifically states you retain the copyright, it's automatically given to whoever hired you. Yes, all photographic rights are lost unless you get it in writing to keep them. (I know there are some Canadian shooters staring at the screen in shock, but I'm not kidding).
Today, Bill C-61 was entered into the House of Commons to append the Canadian Copyright act. You can read a summary of the bill here:
http://www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/crp-prda.nsf/en/rp01163e.html
Of course, people are also upset because this will also interfere with copying music, movies, and other electronic entertainments, but I have no problem with it. There are also mummers that this may be like the DMCA laws in the US. Hogwash, most people complaining about this have no understanding of US or Canadian copyright laws. Basically you don't get to use someone else's work for whatever you want, which means Canada will finally be in compliance with a treaty it signed in 1996.
Personally, I also have no problem with these laws. If you try to remove copyright information, you violate the law. If you post copyrighted material to a website, I want to be able to send a takedown notice to the ISP and have it removed. No lawyers, no hassle, I email the notice to them, identifying myself as the copyright holder and it's done.
Yes, this means you will no longer be able to trade copies of the transformer movie with your friends - go buy or rent a copy. It also means you can't steal my work. Copyright was designed specially to protect the individual artist of limited resources from larger organizations who want to steal it and use it.
All of the changes in this bill are good things. It reinforces that when someone creates something, they both own and control it. For the individual, this also means someone can't steal you photographs off facebook or myspace and use them at will. Too many people think these changes are for the benefit of corporations, but this actually benefits individual artists.
As a professional photographer, my copyright is my greatest asset. I'm ecstatic to hear that finally my copyright will remain with me by default as well as other protection. It means that a client cannot use my work in other mediums, like a website or video podcast, without my permission.
The Writer's strike in the US was about EXACTLY this issue. They wanted to be paid when a studio decided to release a movie on DVD, podcast, or itunes. A lot of people endured a lot of financial hardship in that strike for just this issue. Do you think the writer's were doing this to protect a corporation - no, they were protecting themselves.
I'm standing and applauding this bill. It's about time.
Photographers outside (and some inside) Canada will be shocked to hear that in Canada the copyright for assignment photography goes to the hiring agency by default. Yep, unlike the rest of the civilized world, unless you have a contract that specifically states you retain the copyright, it's automatically given to whoever hired you. Yes, all photographic rights are lost unless you get it in writing to keep them. (I know there are some Canadian shooters staring at the screen in shock, but I'm not kidding).
Today, Bill C-61 was entered into the House of Commons to append the Canadian Copyright act. You can read a summary of the bill here:
http://www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/crp-prda.nsf/en/rp01163e.html
Of course, people are also upset because this will also interfere with copying music, movies, and other electronic entertainments, but I have no problem with it. There are also mummers that this may be like the DMCA laws in the US. Hogwash, most people complaining about this have no understanding of US or Canadian copyright laws. Basically you don't get to use someone else's work for whatever you want, which means Canada will finally be in compliance with a treaty it signed in 1996.
Personally, I also have no problem with these laws. If you try to remove copyright information, you violate the law. If you post copyrighted material to a website, I want to be able to send a takedown notice to the ISP and have it removed. No lawyers, no hassle, I email the notice to them, identifying myself as the copyright holder and it's done.
Yes, this means you will no longer be able to trade copies of the transformer movie with your friends - go buy or rent a copy. It also means you can't steal my work. Copyright was designed specially to protect the individual artist of limited resources from larger organizations who want to steal it and use it.
All of the changes in this bill are good things. It reinforces that when someone creates something, they both own and control it. For the individual, this also means someone can't steal you photographs off facebook or myspace and use them at will. Too many people think these changes are for the benefit of corporations, but this actually benefits individual artists.
As a professional photographer, my copyright is my greatest asset. I'm ecstatic to hear that finally my copyright will remain with me by default as well as other protection. It means that a client cannot use my work in other mediums, like a website or video podcast, without my permission.
The Writer's strike in the US was about EXACTLY this issue. They wanted to be paid when a studio decided to release a movie on DVD, podcast, or itunes. A lot of people endured a lot of financial hardship in that strike for just this issue. Do you think the writer's were doing this to protect a corporation - no, they were protecting themselves.
I'm standing and applauding this bill. It's about time.
posted by Scott MacQuarrie at
8:59 PM
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