Copyright Reform Remains Big Issue In Canada

A court decision in March cast a dark shadow over Canada's music industry for the rest of 2004.

On March 31, the Federal Court in Toronto ruled against a motion by the Canadian Recording Industry Assn. that would have enabled the body to sue individuals who upload unauthorized music to file-sharing sites. The ruling means that downloading or uploading unauthorized music files to the Internet does not constitute copyright infringement under Canadian law.

"The Federal Court decision certainly wasn't good news," CRIA president Graham Henderson says. "It may, however, lead to the galvanization of the government in terms of the ratification of [World Intellectual Property Organization] treaties."

Henderson was named CRIA president after Brian Robertson stepped down Nov. 15. Henderson had been Universal Music Canada senior VP of business affairs and e-commerce.

The Federal Court ruling came after CRIA filed a motion against five Canadian Internet service providers to force them to hand over the names and addresses of 29 people who allegedly had shared a "high volume" of songs through the Internet. The CRIA has appealed the decision, but the Federal Court has not announced when the appeal will be heard.

Rights-holders in Canada received a further blow June 30 when the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that ISPs may not have to pay royalties to the music industry for files their customers download.

The two court decisions highlighted concerns that the Canadian Copyright Act has not been updated to address copyright protection in the digital age.

On May 12, the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage tabled an "Interim Report on Copyright Reform," recommending that legislation to overhaul the Canadian Copyright Act be introduced in the House of Commons by November. This legislation would have included provisions for ratification of two WIPO treaties. However, no such action took place.

One boost for legitimate downloads came Dec. 2, when Apple Computer launched its iTunes Music Store in Canada. It joined such existing digital download services as Puretracks, Napster and Best Buy Canada's Bonfire.

LABEL ACTION

The biggest news on the major-label front centered on the merger between Sony Music and BMG.

In September, BMG Canada president Lisa Zbitnew was named president of the new Sony BMG Music Entertainment Canada, with Sony Music Canada president Denise Donlon departing. After much uncertainty regarding staffing, 80 of the 235 Sony and BMG Canadian staffers either were let go or took early retirement as the year was ending.

Cinram International expanded its distribution services in Canada, taking over back-office functions for Universal Music Canada and BMG Music Canada.

Canada's independent distribution sector continued to grow. InJanuary, Music Manufacturing Services Group purchased a 50% share in Outside Music. Both companies have headquarters in Toronto. In July, Toronto-based retailer/one-stop ROW Entertainment launched Zing Distribution, a full-service distributor.

The indie sector vigorously lobbied throughout the year for the renewal of federal government funding for Tomorrow Starts Today. This three-year cultural program includes funding for the Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent on Records, which provides loans and grants to Canadian-owned companies and Canadian artists, songwriters and producers.

To the relief of the independent sector, the federal government announced Dec. 15 a one-year renewal of the TST funding.