Abstract

Recent developments in reforming the Canadian Copyright Act are best understood from the perspective of international law. Canada’s efforts in to updates its Copyright Act in 2005 and 2008 are viewed as failed attempts to further implement provisions of treaties signed at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in the mid-1990s.

In that sense, looking at the current reform agenda at the international level will help us anticipate what the future holds for copyright reform in our country. As we will see, the outcome could be anything from a lockdown on the Internet through the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to something a bit more promising, such as an international agreement on exceptions and limitations to copyright which would favour user groups such as libraries or disabled persons, particularly the visually impaired. These two developments highlight the tension between economic imperatives and the importance of information, culture and knowledge in any vibrant civil society.