Canadian Copyright Law under review

The Canadian Government is in the process of reviewing the existing copyright laws with the intention of "correcting" them. They have started a consultation process with the public and the following is my response:

1. How do Canada’s copyright laws affect you? How should existing laws be modernized?

As a professional photographer, my only value to a client is my skill, training, and experience. My only asset is the photographs I create and my only protection from abuse is the copyright laws. My clients are larger, better financed, and better able to endure a legal process that an individual such as myself. Even if in the right, I am unable to sustain an extended legal process without destroying my business and the people who depend on me. They are many and I am one, so they can steal from me without some form of protection.

Canadian copyright laws need to be modernized and improved, but they need to remember and reinforce their purpose. That purpose is not to protect the interests of large corporations, but to protect the individual creator from abuse from both individuals and groups, such as corporations. Canadian copyright law currently fails in this mission, as registration does not use a sample of the work, copyright infringement is difficult to detect and to punish, and there is no support in the legal process for enforcement or restitution. Willful infringement, which should suffer the most penalties, is not even recognized properly. To protect my work, I am forced to register my copyright in the US and use the Berne convention to protect myself in my own country. It has forced me to turn to the American legal system for protection in my own country. This is wrong and a complete failure of the system - this is what needs to be corrected.

2. Based on Canadian values and interests, how should copyright changes be made in order to withstand the test of time

The laws must be changed to use the strength of the state, in the form of the legal system, to protect the individual creator. Of all the parties involved, they are the most vulnerable and the most underrepresented. This is not the individual who copies materials, as this requires neither skill not artistic talent, but rather the individual who can create art and intellectual property. This person strengthens our country with every creation and this person deserves the protection of copyright laws with strength and focus.

3. What sorts of copyright changes do you believe would best foster innovation and creativity in Canada?

4. What sorts of copyright changes do you believe would best foster competition and investment in Canada?

5. What kinds of changes would best position Canada as a leader in the global, digital economy?

All three of these questions are answered in the same response.

A true registration process that includes a sample of the work to be protected and a certificate. Infringement against registered copyrights should have mandatory penalties of a magnitude that is noticed by the largest infringer - corporations. Each infringement should be fined individually and legal services at a free or reduced cost should be made available to individual content creators.

J.R Rowlings created an industry unto itself and one of the most successful book series in history. She would have failed had she not been able to protect her work through copyrights. Most poetry, painting, and photography is created by individuals (although some photography is created by a team led by an individual). Without copyright laws, there would be no value in our creations and there would be no reason for us to focus on the effort. The result would be a grey and mediocre world full of endless slight variations of the same idea. The ease of copying does not increase the creativity of the copier, it simply weakens the efforts of the creator. This is the very reason copyright laws must ecist.

The value if the individual creator is rarely noticed, except in hindsight, but it is their creative efforts that bring true value to the world. The arts are often how the value of a society is measured and without individual creators there would be no arts, with solid and strong copyright laws there are no true creators, just copies.

Regards,
--

Scott MacQuarrie, CPP
Certified Professional Photographer (www.certifiedphotographer.com)
ZWCX Photography     www.zwcx.com
99 Bronte Rd, Suite 123
Oakville, Ontario, Canada   L6L 3B7
416-818-4449               scott@zwcx.com

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.