The Internet and other new technologies have dramatically changed the way copyright material can be produced and accessed. If you are a published author, type your name into a browser. There is a good chance "Google Books" will be one of the links that appears on your screen.
As well as listing your titles and showing your book covers, this site invites visitors to browse excerpts or sometimes the entire contents of books at no charge. In fact, the Google Books homepage brags that you can search the full text of more than seven million books.
| Image courtesy of Renjith Krishnan FreeDigitalPhotos.net |
What Google Books is less enthusiastic about discussing is that they have been scanning books without obtaining permission from copyright holders. As a result, people such as myself who would rather work on a manuscript than read legalese, must pay attention to numerous details relating to copyright. Sadly, it feels more like copy-wrong.
Considering the Canadian federal government’s eventual intent to amend copyright law, it becomes necessary to examine its claim to “protect and promote Canadian culture in the interest of Canadians and to ensure a domestic, as well as an international market, for Canadian cultural products.”
Is this really likely to happen, considering current laws and Google‘s somewhat successful bulldozer attempt to seize copyright?
As copyright holders, authors already have contracts that describe their rights in relation to what their publishers can or cannot do, along with reimbursement terms. Yet, intellectual property issues are becoming increasingly complex as technologies advance and methods of distribution take unprecedented and unpredicted forms. Many of us have seen contract clauses which demand authors agree to publication in any form that currently exists or may be invented in the future, without the benefit of any additional compensation.
The responsibility for keeping copyright policies up to date lies with the department of Canadian Heritage Copyright Policy Branch, which works with Industry
Creators negotiating copyright will do well to limit rights for specific uses and for limited time periods, largely because business models will continue to evolve. Future legislation will need to keep Canada on par with international standards by ensuring balance between the protections of creators' rights with consumers’ ability to legally access copyright material. It will necessitate better enabling Canada’s knowledge-based economy to take advantage of global Internet opportunities.
Protect Yourself
• In Canada, copyright protection arises as soon as an original work is created.
• International treaties ensure Canadian copyrights are protected in most other countries.
• Registering copyright provides owners with evidence of ownership.
• Canadian copyright typically lasts for the creator’s lifetime, plus 50 years running from December 31 in the year of death.
Learn More
• Media Awareness Network
• Copyright legislation
• Canadian Intellectual Property Office
• Google Book Settlement
• Access Copyright
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