Greetings All. Forwarded FYI. Gordon ----- Original Message ----- From: "Wallace J.McLean" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, June 06, 2003 8:07 AM Subject: URGENT: Canadian Copyright Law retrograde "reforms" Mr. Watts: I humbly ask your assistance in mobilizing the Canadian genelogical and family and local historian community to oppose the retrograde copyright term extension currently before the House of Commons. As you will see in the text below, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE. ================= Begin forwarded message ================= From: [email protected] (Wallace J.McLean) To: [email protected] Subject: URGENT: Canadian Copyright Law retrograde "reforms" Date: Fri, 6 Jun 2003 10:59:15 -0400 (EDT) To all friends of the public domain: This is an urgent appeal to any Canadians interested in the preservation and promotion of a timely transition of copyrighted works into the public domain. The heirs of Lucy Maud Montgomery, author of the Anne of Green Gables books, have successfully lobbied Sheila Copps, Minister of Heritage, for favourable changes to the Copyright Act in Canada. These changes concern the transition to the public domain of unpublished works. In this particular instance, the heirs are concerned about unpublished LMM works which would, without this amendment, come into the public domain at the end of this year. Lucy Maud Montgomery is playing Walt Disney to the Parliament of Canada. The amendments provide another 14 years of copyright protection to the previously unpublished works of authors who died between 1930 1949. Perversely, there is a disincentive to publish built into this provision: unpublished works will retain protection until 2017 UNLESS they are published sometime before December 31 2017, in which case they receive another 20 years of copyright protection. The longer a copyright owner of this class of works waits to publish, the longer they can enjoy copyright protection, potentially up until 2037. This will effectively give protection of between "Life+87 to Life+107 years" for a small number of holders of potentially very valuable copyrights, while restricting access to reams of historically important material that is of no commercial value to heirs - many of whom won't even realize they "own" the copyright to it. This measure will seriously impede the legitimate expectations of a timely transition to the public domain, and will inhibit the abilities of academics, genealogists, independent scholars and researchers, publishers, dramatists, broadcasters, and others, to carry out their work, and to create new economic and cultural value out of public domain works. The Copyright Act provisions of Bill C-36 are very bad law. However, this bill is being railroaded through Parliament. It could be through committee as early as next week, and then shepherded through the House and Senate before recess. The membership of the committee is available at (sorry for the wrapping URL): http://www.parl.gc.ca/InfoCom/CommitteeMember.asp?Language=E&Parliament=9&Joint=0&CommitteeID=262 Please write to your Member of Parliament, ESPECIALLY if he or she is a member of this committee(*), asking that the Copyright Act amendments extending the term of protection in unpublished works, be struck from C-36 as it stands. Specifically, ask that s. 21 of Bill C-36 be severed, and considered separately by Parliament at a later date. This will leave the rest of the bill, concerning the reorganization of the National Library and National Archives, intact. Any Canadians interested in organizing to protect the public domain are encouraged to email me at [email protected] (please plain text only without attachments). (*) Or if he or she is Minister Sheila Copps (Heritage) or Allan Rock (Industry) MORE INFO: Legislative Summary of C-36: http://www.parl.gc.ca/37/2/parlbus/chambus/house/bills/government/C-36/C-36_1/90219b-1E.html#9 Industry Canada Report on Copyright Protection in Unpublished Works: http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/incrp-prda.nsf/vwGeneratedInterE/rp01107e.html Canadians' responses on copyright reform in Canada: http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/incrp-prda.nsf/vwGeneratedInterE/h_rp01105e.html Please also see "Longer copyright called threat to researchers", Ian Jack, Financial Post, June 4 2003, p. FP4; "Ottawa champions copyright, or some of it", Ian Jack, Financial Post, May 12 2003, p. FP1. The Financial Post is the business section of the National Post. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CIRCULATE THIS EMAIL TO YOUR COLLEAGUES.