[d@DCC] Re: Dead person publishing? Bill C-36.

From: Russell McOrmond <russell _-at-_ flora.ca>
To: Copyright-droitauteur (at) pch.gc.ca
Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 12:48:14 -0400 (EDT)

On Tue, 24 Jun 2003 Copyright-droitauteur@pch.gc.ca wrote:

> Bruce Stockfish
> Director General
> Copyright Policy Branch

  Thank you very much for the reply!

  Can I get permission to re-post your reply to the public forum at
www.digital-copyright.ca?  I believe that you suggesting that the changes
to the transitional period in section 7 of the Copyright Act do not signal
the government's intention to extend the term of protection beyond life+50
is something that would be very beneficial for others to be able to read.


http://www.parl.gc.ca/37/2/parlbus/chambus/house/bills/government/C-36/C-36_1/90219b-1E.html#12

  I suspect you are very aware of the procedural problems that have caused
some of the public concern about this bill.  Inclusion of this change in
Bill C-36 rather than C-11 or a separate bill specifically addressing
copyright gives the appearance that this is a stealth change to the
copyright act.  I believe that this is the issue (not the substance of the
change) that my MP, Mr. Bélanger, is concerned with.

  The other procedural problem is the general feeling I have received that
the consultation on this specific issue didn't include all the
stakeholders, only the incumbent/established interests.

  It is my impression that until recently copyright stakeholders
advocating for citizen/consumer interests and for alternative creator
incentive/business models (such as the Free/Libre and Open Source Software
community) were not actively part of the copyright consultation process.  
I believe that our recent addition has helped to introduce more balance to
copyright reform.

  While our core concern is still the legal protection for TPM, which is
in effect legal protection for a technological replacement of (rather than
protection of) the copyright act, it is appropriate that we remain engaged
in other aspects of copyright reform as well.

  While some of the submissions you have received may not directly address
the text contained in Bill C-36, I suspect that people ensuring that they
become known as relevant stakeholders in various aspects of copyright
reform should be very understandable.



  I do still ask whether it is time to work to un-tie the term of
copyright from the death of the creator.  Life+50 years or publishing+50
years, whichever is larger, has been suggested by some communities in this
debate.  I believe that given that context you can understand why some see
this as the thin-edge of the wedge for term extension, given the
"whichever is larger" suggestion of life+50 vs publishing+50 is a form of
term extension.

  Some of what I have read on this topic was also not directly addressing
the exact text of Bill C-36, but were very much speaking in favor
generally of term extensions.  Whether Bill C-36 was intended to open the
term extension debate or not, it seemed clear to me from the discussion
that this issue has been opened up and our community now has to work to
derail the possibility of Canada following the USA's term extension
lobby.

  I also do not share the belief that this as a short time period for
publishing that heirs were given.  It is not 5 years we are talking about,
which was the advance warning that the government gave since making the
(in my opinion incorrect) clarifying choice between life+50 or
publishing+50 for copyright held by natural persons (or in this specific
case, their heirs).  It is 50 years that the heirs had to publish, and in
that 50 years (starting 15 years before I was born) they decided on their
own not to publish.

  That some heirs at 23:59:59 (or really, later) wish to reap economic
reward for works done in the distant past isn't something that so much
time should be spent accommodating.

---
 Russell McOrmond, Internet Consultant: <http://www.flora.ca/> 
 Governance software that controls ICT, automates government policy, or
 electronically counts votes, shouldn't be bought any more than 
 politicians should be bought.  -- http://www.flora.ca/russell/

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