Canada’s Budget Extends Copyright For Sound Recordings From 50 To 70 Years

Canada’s federal government 2015 budget released yesterday contains several pro-intellectual property measures aimed at boosting the economy. The measures include greater protection of confidential client-advisor communications, and the extension of copyright terms for sound recordings and performances from 50 years to 70 years.

“Economic Action Plan 2015 also proposes to amend the Copyright Act to extend the term of protection of sound recordings and performances from 50 to 70 years following the first release of the sound recording, so that performers and record labels are fairly compensated for the use of their music for an additional 20 years,” the budget states (p. 301, 305).

It is not clear what the criteria were for “fair compensation,” and how 20 years meets this. But the extension appears to be in line with term being negotiated in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.

The budget, as tabled in the House of Commons, is available here [pdf].

Ottawa law professor Michael Geist criticised the copyright term extension in a blog post today, saying the decision was made with “no study, no public demands, and the potential cost to the public of millions of dollars.”

Meanwhile, the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada, a rights holder professional trade group, hailed measures in the budget to protect confidential communications from forced disclosure in litigation. (For these items in the budget, see p. 113).

“Providing a statutory privilege for IP advisor-client communications is consistent with initiatives on this issue taken in many of Canada’s most important trading partners and leading innovative economies,” the industry group said. “With this, Canadian businesses are better assured that they can speak openly with their intellectual property advisors in order to obtain the best possible advice, knowing that these conversations will not be revealed to their competitors through a court process or litigation.”

The group also praised a measure providing the Canadian Intellectual Property Office with the ability to extend deadlines in cases of force majeure events, such as floods or ice storms interfering with the ability to file documents on time for instance.