Download Decade

Rewriting Canada's Copyright Law

At some point over the last 10 years, copyright became a sexy topic. An issue that was once purely the domain of lawyers, politicians and record industry executives has seeped into the consciousness of everyday Canadians — people who feel that something just isn't quite right about the way copyright works in this country.

During the digital-media revolution — what we're calling The Download Decade — copyright issues moved from the boardroom to the living room, as interpretations of these laws began to have a tangible impact on the way we consumed music, movies and television.

In June of 2008, the last time Ottawa attempted to introduce copyright reform, many Canadians spoke out against legislation that they felt didn't do an adequate job of balancing the rights of consumers with the rights of content producers. In the end, the proposed legislation, Bill C-61, died as an election was called. Still, nearly 90,000 people joined the Fair Copyright for Canada Facebook group — a clear sign that this issue resonates with Canadians.

But signing your name to a Facebook group is one thing. Getting active in copyright reform is something else entirely. So today we're asking Globe and Mail readers to offer their thoughts on copyright. We would like to craft a new copyright bill.

At this wiki, you'll find a copy of the most recent copyright reform bill (Bill C-61), as well as links to background reading and legislation from around the world on the Copyright Links page (if you have any links to useful information or perspectives, please feel free to add them). You can use the built-in wiki tools to modify the existing Bill C-61 and add or remove whatever you think is necessary to create a piece of modern copyright legislation.

If legalese isn't your cup of tea, some great places to start are in the preamble, which acts as a sort of introduction to the topic of copyright reform and its importance, or in the discussion forums.

On July 1st, Canada Day, the Globe and Mail will send the final version created here to Ottawa for consideration.

So jump in and have your say.