| TORONTO: This set of revisions to the
Copyright Act does not give authors what they need, the Writers’
Union of Canada said today, but generally applauded the efforts
of the Government to address digital issues in Bill C-61,
tabled last week in the House of Commons.
“If we were a book publisher and the revised Act (Bill
C-61) was submitted as a manuscript, we would accept most
of it in principle but would note that it still needs work,”
said Wayne Grady, Chair of the Union.
New exceptions for schools’ use of copyright material
found on the Internet and for libraries’ digital delivery
raise concerns, the Union’s statement said. The Writers’
Union clearly stated that uses of copyright works in schools
and libraries can and should be handled by licensing rather
than by legislating exceptions.
“Writers want their works to be freely available, but
not available free,” Mr. Grady said.
“Strengthening collective licensing is a better solution
than making exceptions, and more in line with the Government’s
efforts to take an internationally co-ordinated approach to
copyright reform,” commented Deborah Windsor, Executive
Director of the Union. Referring to the library exception
for single copies of newspaper, magazine, and journal articles,
Ms. Windsor explained that the unfairness of an exception
may be multiplied when extended from print-on-paper to digital
delivery. “Digital delivery is great as long as writers
are fairly compensated through collective licensing.”
“As publishers say,” added Grady, “we are
looking forward to seeing the next draft.”
Bill Freeman, Chair of the Union’s Electronic Rights
and Copyright Committee, observed that, “this Bill does
nothing to address the lack of bargaining power of writers,
who are often forced through economic necessity to either
to sign away their rights altogether or to license them for
a pittance.”
The Writers' Union of Canada is our country's national organization
representing professional authors of books. Founded in 1973,
the Union is dedicated to fostering writing in Canada, and
promoting the rights, freedoms, and economic well being of
all writers. For more information, please visit www.writersunion.ca.
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For additional information
Deborah Windsor, Executive Director
The Writers’ Union of Canada
416.703.8982 Ext. 221
dwindsor@writersunion.ca
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