NAFTA negotiations could lead to stricter copyright rules in Canada

[Fugalicious]

Hi all,

For those who haven't heard, I wanted to alert you to keep an eye on the NAFTA negotiations, which could lead to longer copyright terms and stricter enforcement in Canada. The story below, for instance, suggests that Canada's copyright term could be extended from 50 to 75 years, and mere accusations, even if unproven, of copyright infringement could be enough to require takedowns of internet content.

I imagine this issue will affect IMSLP, so it's worth keeping an eye on future developments.

https://globalnews.ca/news/4415386/naft ... erty-laws/

[Timpania]

Unfortunately it now looks like Canada is to move to the 70+ years threshold in 2020. Shame.

[Sallen112]

But is it Retroactive though? If its not, then maybe only parts of Canadian Copyright might be extended while other parts are not.

[Fugalicious]

Latest update:

* The extensions are not retroactive, in the sense that things that are currently PD in Canada will remain PD
* Canada's implementation bill for the USMCA doesn't currently include the 20-year copyright extension. Reportedly, they want to use some of the next two and a half years to decide how to do it. They may require copyright holders to register for the extension.

I am still unsure what will happen if the deal falls apart (e.g. if the Democrats continue to stall in the US, and Trump is defeated in the next presidential election).

Source: http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2019/05/cana ... provision/

[Backfire_22]

Great to know, I heard about that last year and was worried about what's already in the public domain. These US standards truly are fun for everyone...

[Sallen112]

Just to let everyone know here, the USMCA is going into effect on July 1st see here. But I guess I am told the Canadian Copyright extension is going to be delayed until 2021-22 at the earliest to consult with the public about the copyright changes that will be happening eventually, stayed tuned.

[Fugalicious]

Update from May 2022 on Canadian copyright extensions: the copyright extensions have been included in Canada's budget, released in April. This means that no works will enter the public domain in Canada between 2023 and 2042.

I have it on good authority from a friend who works in the sector that there could be exceptions/carveouts added next year or the year after; however, I'm not optimistic for much scope in the exceptions as they would pertain to us at IMSLP. A consultation paper that the government released in 2021 (link below) asked for feedback that could reduce the burden of the copyright extension on institutions such as libraries and museums. The best-case scenario for us at IMSLP would be that the government could introduce a registration requirement for the extra 20 years of copyright to be added. Unfortunately, the consultation paper did not make it look like the government was interested in pursuing this option.

Opinion piece from the news about copyright extension: https://nationalpost.com/opinion/colby- ... -of-budget

Annex 3 from the budget legislation (you can ctrl+F for "copyright" to find the relevant row): https://budget.gc.ca/2022/report-rappor ... ml#wb-cont

Consultation paper from 2021: https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/693.nsf/eng/00191.html

[Sallen112]

Wel thankfully we have at least have servers setup now in Hong Kong where it is Life + 50 there, so I guess at this point, we can at least enjoy what we have left for Stravinsky that just went PD-CA this year! And correction only composers that entered the public domain from 1952-1973 will be under copyright in Canada then, same as the EU.

[Fugalicious]

From all indications, I think they want to extend copyright in a non-retroactive way (this would mean the Stravinsky is still OK to copy), but it's definitely something we'll have to keep an eye on! I think the actual legislation will be in the Budget Implementation Act. I'll post here if I notice the language being available.

Yes, I'm very grateful for the Hong Kong server in times like this!

[Sallen112]

Wel thankfully we have at least have servers setup now in Hong Kong where it is Life + 50 there, so I guess at this point, we can at least enjoy what we have left for Stravinsky that just went PD-CA this year! And correction only composers that entered the public domain from 1952-1973 will be under copyright in Canada then, same as the EU.

Going to make a small update and a bit of an error on my part. I assumed this was already done, but I guess not. I asked our site leader and he has not made any kind of decision where to plant and move the servers to yet before Canada enacts its new budget which includes the non-retroactive extension. With the current political climate in certain countries and remoteness for some countries (and internet connection speeds), there are many choices to choose from, but what is going to be the best one for most people to use is the question and the best location.

[Sallen112]

Well we got some unfortunate bad news (its not all bad but going forward, were no longer going to be using the Canadian Server as the main location), the Canadian Parliament just passed there 2023 budget and included is the extension to Life + 70, but fortunately this only affects future composer's going PD for composers who died 1972 and later (until 2042) and it is non-retroactive, meaning no composer who died before 1972 will be under copyright (meaning if they already entered the public domain under Life + 50, they stay Public domain there), so not much will be changing except copyright tags will have to be adjusted for new composer's works added on here of works who died 1972 and later or first published 1972 and later.

Which means with all of this, the main server for Canada is going to have to be migrated somewhere to a new Life + 50 country in order to continue rolling in new under copyright current composer who will be PD in Life + 50 countries starting in 2023 (1972). Feldmahler is working on a new location, so stay tuned to where the new server will be located for all Life + 50 composers as I imagine an announcement will be happening at some point soon.

[ahinton]

Well we got some unfortunate bad news (its not all bad but going forward, were no longer going to be using the Canadian Server as the main location), the Canadian Parliament just passed there 2023 budget and included is the extension to Life + 70, but fortunately this only affects future composer's going PD for composers who died 1972 and later (until 2042) and it is non-retroactive, meaning no composer who died before 1972 will be under copyright (meaning if they already entered the public domain under Life + 50, they stay Public domain there), so not much will be changing except copyright tags will have to be adjusted for new composer's works added on here of works who died 1972 and later or first published 1972 and later.

Which means with all of this, the main server for Canada is going to have to be migrated somewhere to a new Life + 50 country in order to continue rolling in new under copyright current composer who will be PD in Life + 50 countries starting in 2023 (1972). Feldmahler is working on a new location, so stay tuned to where the new server will be located for all Life + 50 composers as I imagine an announcement will be happening at some point soon.

I don't see what difference server relocation will or can make to copyright laws in countries other than that within which such a server be located; IMSLP has always wisely and helpfully published warnings about downloading material that might be under copyright in the downloader's country.

[DBMiller]

Well we got some unfortunate bad news (its not all bad but going forward, were no longer going to be using the Canadian Server as the main location), the Canadian Parliament just passed there 2023 budget and included is the extension to Life + 70, but fortunately this only affects future composer's going PD for composers who died 1972 and later (until 2042) and it is non-retroactive, meaning no composer who died before 1972 will be under copyright (meaning if they already entered the public domain under Life + 50, they stay Public domain there), so not much will be changing except copyright tags will have to be adjusted for new composer's works added on here of works who died 1972 and later or first published 1972 and later.

Which means with all of this, the main server for Canada is going to have to be migrated somewhere to a new Life + 50 country in order to continue rolling in new under copyright current composer who will be PD in Life + 50 countries starting in 2023 (1972). Feldmahler is working on a new location, so stay tuned to where the new server will be located for all Life + 50 composers as I imagine an announcement will be happening at some point soon.

I don't see what difference server relocation will or can make to copyright laws in countries other than that within which such a server be located; IMSLP has always wisely and helpfully published warnings about downloading material that might be under copyright in the downloader's country.

They don't make any difference regarding Canadian copyright law. However, in some other countries, the copyright lengths are different. For example, there is already a Hong Kong-based mirror server. In Hong Kong, the copyright term is 50 years p.m.a.; if files for 50 years p.m.a. composers are stored there, and made available on that server, they could be used by users in countries with a 50-year term.

However, there are no plans to move the main IMSLP server at this time as far as I know. My understanding is that IMSLP will remain hosted in Canada.

If an external partner project hosts files on a HK-based server (or in another country with the same term), then that file server could make the works of post-1972 death authors available to downloaders in countries where those works are in the public domain, much like the PML-US server hosts files that are in the public domain in the US and not Canada.

But in short, ahinton --- the server location does matter, because two factors are at play: the location of the server and the location of the user. The user has to comply with the copyright law in their location in how they download and use the file. But the server that hosts a file needs to be located in a country where the file is in the public domain so it can be distributed from that file host.

[Sallen112]

Just posting a new site below with the updates regarding Canada losing its life + 50 status for cycling new works and composers into the public domain.

https://cassels.com/insights/canada-ext ... -70-years/

All composers who died 1971 (including works published 1971 and later) and earlier are going to still be in the public domain in Canada just to be clear, because this legislation is not retroactive for locking down composers between 1952-71 so at least Igor Stravinsky will be staying up online.

[Fugalicious]

All composers who died 1971 (including works published 1971 and later) and later are going to still be in the public domain in Canada

Just to be clear, you mean "earlier" in the places where you wrote "later", right?