By Aidan Macnab
Canada has until the end of this year to extend its general term of copyright protection, Under the Canada-United States Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).
The federal government’s Budget Implementation Act, 2022 contained an amendment to the Copyright Act which extended the copyright term from 50-to-70 years after the author’s death. The budget legislation received Royal Assent on June 23. The extension is not yet in force, but under CUSMA, Canada has agreed to implement the extension within 2.5 years of CUSMA’s coming into force, which occurred July 1, 2020.
There is a policy debate about adding 20 years to the monopoly held by copyright owners, but Daniel Anthony, counsel at Smart & Biggar LLP, says he does not take either side. Read more