Newsroom

Press Releases

CFTPA Applauds Government Action on Copyright

INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION SECTOR
APPLAUDS GOVERNMENT ACTION ON COPYRIGHT
Producers say that time has come to modernize Canada’s copyright law

June 12, 2008

TORONTO - The Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) welcomed the federal government’s decision to move forward with new copyright legislation, tabled in the House of Commons earlier today.

“The government has clearly recognized the need to modernize the Copyright Act,” said CFTPA President and CEO Guy Mayson. “It has been over a decade since Canada signed the WIPO copyright treaties, and the time had definitely come to update our own legislation to ensure that it was consistent with the treaties’ provisions.”

As one of the country’s leading innovators in content creation, Canada’s independent production sector depends on having modern copyright legislation that is adapted to the digital age, said Mayson.

While noting that it would take some time to analyze the bill’s proposed provisions, CFTPA Chair Sandra Cunningham congratulated the government for taking action on what has become a highly contentious file.

“The government has consistently stated that updating Canada’s copyright law requires balancing the needs of content creators and users. We will be reviewing the proposed legislation in that light, and will convey to the government any concerns that we may have” said Cunningham.

“In the meantime, what is important from our perspective is that the dialog about copyright will no longer take place in a vacuum. For the first time in years, all sides in the copyright debate will be able to weigh the merits of substantive legislative provisions and determine whether the proposed bill is moving the country in the right direction. That in itself is progress.”

The CFTPA is a non-profit trade organization that works on behalf of almost 400 companies engaged in the production and distribution of English-language television programs, feature films, and interactive media products in all regions of Canada. The CFTPA promotes the general interests of members provincially, federally, and internationally; negotiates and manages labour agreements with guilds and unions; administers copyright collectives; trains new industry entrants through several national internship programs; and undertakes a number of other specific initiatives that help increase awareness and enhance communication within the Canadian and international production communities.

- 30 -

For more information, please contact:

John Barrack , National Executive Vice-President and Counsel
CFTPA
(416) 304-0280, ext. 227

Reynolds Mastin
Associate Counsel
CFTPA
(416) 304-0280, ext. 225