Good morning, and thank you for this opportunity to address you.
The Union des écrivaines et des écrivains québécois is a professional union founded in 1977 which now represents almost 1,400 writers.
The UNEQ is recognized as the association most representative of artists working in the field of literature under the Act respecting the professional status of artists in the visual arts, arts and crafts and literature, and their contracts with promoters—R.S.Q., c. S-32.01—and consequently speaks on behalf of all Quebec writers.
In the brief we are presenting today, we have chosen to analyze the clauses that concern us one by one, in order to clearly demonstrate the extent to which writers will lose out if the bill is passed in its current form.
The government is seeking to add to the Copyright Act a whole host of exceptions with the apparent goal of balancing the rights of creators and the interest of consumers. However, the vast majority of these exceptions provide neither for remuneration nor the possibility of control by the author of the work, which we automatically consider to be contrary to the spirit of an act that is supposed to protect creators.
Furthermore, the terms used in the often imprecise wording of the bill force copyright owners to look to the courts to define the scope of these exceptions. They will have to do that at their own expense, in order to receive only minimal damages, compared to the cost of such proceedings.
Thus there will not be an appropriate balance struck between creators and users, and only after lengthy legal proceedings will we know what is legitimate and what is not.
We would now like to look at the bill in detail, starting with clause 29, which concerns fair dealing for the purpose related of education, satire or parody.
It should be noted, to begin with, that the lack of any definition of the term “education” will enable any organization that offers training to claim that its purposes are educational and thus avail itself of the fair use provisions. Furthermore, free access to these works will deprive writers of fair remuneration. Because literary works circulate extensively in the educational sector, the latter represents a significant source of income for authors. To consider depriving them of the compensation they deserve when their works are the raw material of education is unacceptable. We are therefore recommending that the term “education” be struck from clause 29.
The addition of clause 29.21 aims to legalize the use of protected content by users who wish to use this content to create a new work which is then disseminated digitally at no profit, but with no due consideration for the fact that such new works may betray the spirit of the works used, something that simply mentioning the source cannot remedy. Such an exception violates an author's moral rights and should be removed.
New clauses 30.01 and 30.04 apply to educational institutions. The first one makes it possible for these institutions to communicate a protected work as part of a lesson using telecommunications. The institution must take measures that can “reasonably be expected” to prevent students from further disseminating the work, but no penalty is imposed should it fail to do so. Furthermore, the fact that educational institutions will not be obligated to pay authors for such use constitutes unprecedented prejudice which no one else involved in education would accept.
The second clause allows institutional institutions to use works available on the Internet for education purposes. At the present time, a work is protected under the Copyright Act as soon as it exists in some material form, whatever that may be. Clause 30.04 removes that protection in an educational setting. Yet collective administration would, in both cases, afford access to these works while compensating authors. We therefore recommend that clauses 30.01 and 30.04 be removed.
Clause 30.02 extends the license to photocopy by treating digital reproduction and print reproduction as one and the same thing, thereby allowing their costs to be assessed on the same basis, without regard for the possible dissemination of the work. We recommend that this clause be re-drafted to make a clear distinction between digital reproduction and print reproduction, with compensation adjusted accordingly.
As regards levies for private copying, the UNEQ believes that a modern Copyright Act should extend levies to new digital formats and provide compensation to all artists. in all areas, including literature.
With respect to those measures aimed at making Internet service providers accountable, the UNEQ believes that the notice and takedown system is the only one that ensure adequate protection of works disseminated over the Internet. The notice-and-notice approach is too weak and forces creators to police the web themselves, a burden that is disproportionate.
In summary, the UNEQ believes that Bill C-32, which purports to modernize the Act, actually greatly increases the number of exceptions, thus depriving writers and artists of fair compensation; denies their right to approve or not the use of their works; remains vague as to the meaning of the terms used in the bill, leaving it up to the courts to interpret them; sets laughable fines, compared to the costs that would be incurred; removes any accountability for Internet service providers; ignores Canadian copyright collective societies' successful negotiations; and endangers the book industry and the development of new markets in the educational sector.
We are therefore asking that Bill C-32 be completely overhauled so as to provide adequate compensation for the use of copyrighted works and to ensure that any exceptions are consistent with the terms of the Berne Convention. We are also asking that collective administration be recognized as the safest way to guarantee respect for the rights of creators and access to their works.
Thank you for your attention.