Michael Geist
Law Bytes
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 155: Mark Swartz on the Harm Caused by Canada’s Copyright Term Extension
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The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 155: Mark Swartz on the Harm Caused by Canada’s Copyright Term Extension

Toronto History from Toronto, Canada, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lester_Pearson_at_Constellation_Hotel_%2850540638176%29.jpg

Many Canadians started the new year with an unwelcome surprise as they learned that Canada had extended the term of copyright by additional 20 years with no mitigation measures or efforts to limit the harmful effects of the policy. That the extension did not get much attention was seemingly by design as the government buried it in a budget implementation bill and posted no news releases on it. Mark Swartz is a Scholarly Publishing Librarian at Queen’s University and has been an active participant in copyright reform issues for many years. He recently published an op-ed in the Toronto Star and Hill Times identifying both the harms of term extension and potential mitigation measures. He joins me on the podcast to talk about Canada’s approach to copyright term extension, the impact on the public domain, and what could come next.

Show Notes:

Mark Swartz, Interminable pause: Government must address harm caused by extension to copyright term

CFLA-CARL Submission on Copyright Term Extension

CARL, Addressing the Impacts of Copyright Term Extension in Canada

The Biblio File podcast, Michael Geist on the pathetic argument for extending copyright protection

Credits:

CTV News, Trudeau Accuses Poilievre of Spreading Misinformation

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Michael Geist
Law Bytes
In recent years the intersection between law, technology, and policy has exploded as digital policy has become a mainstream concern in Canada and around the world. This podcast explores digital policies in conversations with people studying the legal and policy challenges, set the rules, or are experts in the field. It provides a Canadian perspective, but since the internet is global, examining international developments and Canada’s role in shaping global digital policy is be an important part of the story. Lawbytes is hosted by Michael Geist, a law professor at the University of Ottawa, where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law and where he is a member of the Centre for Law, Technology and Society.