On April 14, 2020, the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada released a consultation paper entitled “A Consultation on a Modern Copyright Framework for Online Intermediaries.” With a view to updating Canada’s copyright intermediary regime, the federal government invited public feedback on the issue.
The stated goals of the consultation are: (a) to protect and encourage the use of copyright-protected content online; (b) to safeguard individual rights and freedoms in an open Internet; and (c) to facilitate a flourishing digital market.
The paper explores options for reform such as clarifying intermediaries’ safe harbour protections, recalibrating the knowledge standard for safe harbour eligibility, clarifying permitted involvement in content curation of qualifying intermediaries, adding obligations for qualifying intermediaries, compelling remuneration through collective licensing schemes, increasing transparency in the remuneration process, and clarifying or strengthening enforcement tools against online infringement.