We will have to wait another 20 years before the public can easily access and use some of the treasured creations of late Canadian celebrities.
The revision of the Copyright Act, which took effect from the end of the year, extended the copyright protection period for Canadian authors or creators from 50 years to 70 years after death.
This foreshadows that Canada will remain at a standstill in the cultural sector until 2043, when many copyrights expire.
It seems like a small change, but it will have a negative impact on Canada’s cultural development over the next 20 years, falling below expectations.
Anyone can use creative works for which copyright has expired. It also includes copyrights that have already passed 50 years after death.
For example, anyone could create a new volume 2 based on Mary Shelley’s creation of Frankenstein, using characters from that book.
It is not illegal for theater and filmmakers to remake Shakespeare’s novel ‘Hamlet’ into a modern version and put it on stage. A painter can create a new work by partially copying Van Gogh’s painting ‘Sunflowers’.
All copyrights have expired, so anyone can do it without the permission of the original author, writer, survivors of the creator, or the heritage manager.
However, in Canada, copyright protection has been extended for 20 years, so citizens cannot use valuable creations during that time. Copyright protection includes all cultural creations authored or created by Canadian citizens, either domestically or abroad.
For example, the public cannot freely use the works of Prime Minister Lester Pearson, Gabriel Roy (French novelist, general and children’s), novelist Margaret Lawrence, musician Glenn Gould, masscom scholar Marshall McLuhan, and poet and novelist Gwendoline McEwan. Although their books have become very popular, thousands more are not printed. Therefore, people can only find it on the bookshelves of the library. This marks a period of cultural dormancy for the country.
Libraries are busy converting out-of-copyright creations digitally with the support of Internet libraries such as the Internet Archive and Hathitrust.
The need for digitization work will continue to increase. However, if the copyright period does not expire, the library’s digitization work will be limited.
Why did the Canadian government allow such an extension?
In return for the US ratification of the North American Trade Agreement CUSMA (formerly NAFTA), Canada accepted the US request and agreed to the copyright extension.
The government listened to public opinion about this through public hearings but ignored all proposals for the conclusion of the North American Treaty.
The government needs to reconsider the proposals advocated by libraries and academia.
Very few copyright holders benefit from the 20-year extension, but the rest of the people do not benefit culturally. The government’s measures are disappointing.