Skip to content

Copyright Committee Monthly Summaries

MARCH 2024

  • Jennifer Stirling (special guest) discussed the recent work of the Joint Taskforce on eBook Sustainability which is exploring provincial legislative opportunities to support sustainable purchasing of electronic resources for publicly funded Canadian libraries. The Taskforce wanted CFLA feedback on which provinces offer the best option for advocacy efforts regarding their consumer protection legislation and government friendliness towards the issue of ebook sustainability. 
  • An ad hoc sub-committee presented the Draft of their 2024 Recommendations suggesting changes to the WIPO Good Practice Toolkit for Collective Management Organizations.
  • On the CFLA Copyright Committee recommendation, the CFLA Board endorsed the Access to Knowledge Coalition, letter dated March 5th representing educators, researchers, students, libraries, archives, museums, copyright academics, and other knowledge users and creative communities around the globe. This letter outlined the need for protection of broadcasting organizations; limitations and exceptions for libraries and archives; limitations and exceptions for educational and research institutions and for persons with other disabilities; and other matters including investigating copyright related to the digital environment and recommended more consideration of Generative Artificial intelligence issues.
  • Crown Copyright Working Group: Crown Copyright Code of Best Practices is close to completion. It is currently out for final review.
  • Artificial Intelligence and Copyright Working Group submission to the Federal Government’s recently announced CFLA Response: Consultation on Copyright in the Age of Generative Artificial Intelligence is public on the CFLA website in English, and is currently being translated to French. The group has followed up with ISED to see when the submissions (due Jan. 15th, 2024) will be made public. Group continues to work on a re-analysis of submissions from 2021 to align with the 2024 consultation.
  • Accessibility Working Group document Guidelines to the Canadian Coalition For Inclusive Publishing is currently under a review and comment process, some reviewers have completed their review.
  • The PLR Working Group’s Public Lending Right Position Statement has been approved by the CFLA Board, and will be published soon on the CFLA website  (CFLA Board will look at this March 21)

FEBRUARY 2024

  • Role changes for CFLA Committee: Don Taylor, ( British Columbia – BCLA)  Acclaimed at new Chair of CFLA Copyright Committee; Ann Ludbrook, (Subject Matter Specialist) – Acclaimed for Vice Chair; we welcomed Laura Winton, ( CFLA vice-chair) to the Committee as CFLA Board Representative.
  • Public Lending Right Position Paper Public Lending rights document is complete and ready to be submitted to the CFLA Executive committee. Public lending right (PLR) is a system that provides payment to creators whose works are available in public libraries.
  • A2K Coalition: Quarterly meeting on Feb. 4th, 2024. Letters for delegates is coming.
  • Crown Copyright: Crown Copyright Code of Best Practices is one of three Codes that will be discussed during a Fair Dealing Week webinar on Feb. 28th at 1pm ET, Leveraging Best Practices: Using the CARL Copyright Codes of Best Practice in your library. Registration required.
  • MP Brian Masse’s Bill C-374,was introduced to remove copyright from government Works on February 8th, 2024. CFLA is following with interest.
  • Accessibility: Reasonable Search Guidelines document is progressing. Document has had input from a wide range of individuals in the community. The document is out for legal review. This document may be useful for other copyright checking processes that may benefit from a reasonable search process.

JANUARY 2024

  • Don Taylor was elected as Chair of the CFLA Copyright Committee, and nominations were invited for the vice-chair role.
  • The committee shared their gratitude for the work of Victoria Owen, Chair of the committee from 2017-2023
  • The AI working group completed the draft submission for the federal AI consultation, and has submitted it to the CFLA executive for approval
  • Work continues on the navigating copyright for accessibility guide, with legal review as the next step. This guide is modelled on the Australian Making Content Accessible: A Guide to Navigating Australian Copyright Law for Disability Access
  • The Crown Copyright Working Group contributed to the subject expert review of the draft Crown Copyright Code of Best Practices for Libraries. The Code will be released jointly by CARL and CFLA later this year.
  • A draft statement on Public Lending Right (PLR) is underway and a revised version planned for the February meeting, incorporating feedback from committee members
  • Committee members contributed to a call for anticipated 2024 major copyright issues from IFLA’s Copyright and Other Legal Matters Committee