Hurried public copyright consultations prepare for new bill in fall

A series of public consultations -- the first since 2001 -- on the shape of updated copyright legislation are being held this week and next across the country. The first round-table discussion was today (Monday) in Vancouver included academics and museum staff as well as representatives from the video game, software, television, music, movie and magazine industries, according to a story on CBC.ca.

The next round table is in Calgary on Tuesday followed by others in Gatineau and Montreal next week. The consultations will run until Sept. 13. Some dates have not yet been finalized, the ministers said. There will be webcast town hall meetings from Toronto and Montreal.

Sessions will be posted as audio and video and an online discussion forum and Twitter site are being provided.

"We all know that new technologies are changing the landscape and that Canadian copyright laws need to be updated," said Heritage Minister James Moore in a statement on Monday in Vancouver.

Not only will such laws will affect the music people download and the TV shows they watch on devices such as laptops and smartphones, but also the materials used to educate children and expand our knowledge base, as well as how we value creativity, said Industry Minister Tony Clement.

He added in a statement that the consultations will help the government draft "new, flexible legislation" to help Canada "regain its place on the cutting edge of the digital economy."

The ministers were criticized at the media conference for not providing much information about the Vancouver round table ahead of time. However, they said everything is very new at the moment and more information will be forthcoming.

A previous copyright bill died on the order paper in 2008 when the federal election was called and Clement said that the technological landscape has already changed considerably since Bill C-61 was introduced. He said it seemed like public consultations were "generally something that people were perceived as wanting last time."

After these consultations, the Conservative government expects to introduce a new bill in the fall.