I think there's a natural concern surrounding disclosure to the extent that this bill may result in confidential information being disclosed in a way that is unfettered. There's a natural concern when it comes to innovation. I don't know if that's a concern uniformly across the board.
IPIC is proposing that there be a framework developed to address those types of concerns specifically.
I think the main concern that we have with respect to what we've heard before the committee and with respect to the bill is that it takes a one-size-fits-all approach. In our view, a one-size-fits-all approach isn't appropriate. Different products raise different concerns, including on the innovation front. To the extent that the bill can be amended to develop a framework that weighs the risks and benefits for specific use cases, that's what we would encourage. One of those considerations would be the impact on innovation.
To be clear, part of our proposal as well recognizes that copyright is only one part of a framework to the extent that the goal is really to achieve a meaningful right to repair. The expectation we have as an IP community is that there would be other legislative amendments that would come forward in other areas of law. The province likely would be involved.
If we look at what's happened in other jurisdictions for example, the EU right to repair standards provide that manufacturers will have to supply spare parts for certain household appliances for up to 10 years and only professional repairers will be supported.
To the extent that we're looking at a framework, many of the concerns, including those related to innovation, can be addressed as part and parcel of a meaningful framework.