Bill C-32 undermines collective licensing. The introduction of proposed section 29.22 is only one example. Collective licensing, whether legislated or free market, is a very simple solution to so many of the issues facing us. It allows consumers easy access to content and it provides remuneration to the creators of that content. Collective licensing has been working well in many sectors for decades. I know this because I get cheques for secondary uses in other jurisdictions through the Canadian Screenwriters Collection Society. Collective licensing is a working model for consumers' use of content and creator compensation, and it should be the model we embrace in the digital world.
However, even if there is collective licensing for audiovisual works, as a screenwriter I would not be entitled to it, because the author of the audiovisual work is not defined in the Copyright Act or this bill.
Like photographers' rights, the lack of definition has been an anomaly from the beginning. The Writers Guild of Canada and the Directors Guild of Canada agree that the screenwriter and director are co-authors of the audiovisual work. This is the situation in many jurisdictions around the world. By failing to define authorship, the bill fails to offer audiovisual works the same protections as other works. For example, proposed section 41.22 protects rights management information, which allows us to track the use of our work and subsequently earn royalties around the world. Without a definition of authorship, this proposed section's prohibition against removing the author's identity is meaningless for audiovisual works. After 12 years and several rounds of copyright reform, it's time to recognize the screenwriter and the director as co-authors of the audiovisual work.
It has been said that this bill is good for creators because it gives us locks that we can use to protect our works against piracy. For the record, as creators we have no control over whether a lock is added. That's the decision of the copyright owners, and while digital locks may preserve the existing business models for a time, the patterns of distribution are changing. Even owners may not realize the full value of the work. Protection against piracy only addresses part of the problem. There must be compensation for copying.