CFLA Copyright Committee Update (November 2023)

December 7, 2023

• CARL will be meeting with Parliamentary staffers of the Ministers’ of Heritage and of Innovation, Science & Industry and with officials from the departments of Heritage and of Innovation, Science & Industry regarding copyright and open educational resources.
• Crown Copyright Working Group received feedback from legal experts on their Crown Copyright Code of Best Practices and will be reviewing this feedback.
• AI Working Group – working on a submission to the Federal Government’s Consultation on Copyright in the Age of Generative Artificial Intelligence.
• Accessibility Working Group – Their next step is to send to expert legal review their guidelines for implementing the Marrakesh Treaty in libraries, including guidelines on Reasonable Search. The Working Group also plans to create a separate document focused only on Reasonable Search.
• The E-book Collaboration umbrella group is continuing to review provincial consumer protection legislation as well as the potential for a provincial government to support public libraries ebook licensing changes via provincial legislation.
• Public Lending Right Working Group – should have a working draft of a Public Lending Right (PLR) statement early in 2024.
• CFLA representatives participated in the WIPO SCCR 44 (Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights). Significant progress was made on exceptions and limitations via the African Group and the USA. CFLA made a submission on how Canada’s Public Lending Right (PLR) system is separate from copyright legislation. Canada’s system of supporting PLR is favoured by non-governmental organizations at WIPO.

(Via CFLA Copyright Committee)