Industry committee All I would say is that the World Intellectual Property Organization has been studying the issue. It's called traditional knowledge, and the reason it creates somewhat of a legal issue is that traditional knowledge often isn't expressed in a way that can be copied. As you say, it's handed down from generation to generation, and the feeling is that it's owned by the community rather than by an individual.
May 9th, 2018Committee meeting
Ken Thompson
Industry committee What you referred to is the value gap: the value between the use, the user, and the creator. From the creator's perspective, there is less value, on the user's side, given to the work that they create. Their interest and compensation is diminished because of the value gap. There are a number of reasons why we have a value gap, as has been expressed.
May 9th, 2018Committee meeting
Ken Thompson
Industry committee The good thing is we have a five-year review. That's one of the best things. Instead of putting the Copyright Act on the shelf, I think it's more important now than ever that copyright be given a very good going over, because it impacts much more than it did previously. It was kind of an arcane area of law, but now it cuts across everything, including software development.
May 9th, 2018Committee meeting
Ken Thompson
Industry committee The Copyright Board is a very essential body in this area of law. In fact, most of the Supreme Court of Canada decisions start at the Copyright Board. I'm not downplaying the book publishing industry, but it cuts across all of the industries that rely on tariffs that the board sets.
May 9th, 2018Committee meeting
Ken Thompson
Industry committee My colleague Ms. Marian Hebb has joined me here, and she'll address that.
May 9th, 2018Committee meeting
Ken Thompson
Industry committee Good afternoon. My name is Ken Thompson and I'm here with my colleague Ms. Marian Hebb. I would like to thank the chair and the members of this committee for inviting us to appear on behalf of Artists and Lawyers for the Advancement of Creativity, ALAC. ALAC is a not-for-profit corporation that for over 30 years has been helping artists, actors, musicians, dancers, writers, filmmakers, and other creative Canadians address legal problems.
May 9th, 2018Committee meeting
Ken Thompson