An Act to amend the Copyright Act (Crown copyright)
Bill C-374 was an NDP Private Member's Bill amending the Copyright Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. C-42) to abolish Crown copyright on federal-government publications and make government-produced content public domain by default. Currently Crown copyright under section 12 of the Copyright Act grants the Crown a 50-year copyright on government-published material; the proposed reform would have aligned Canada with the US federal-government public-domain default (US Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. section 105). The bill paralleled British Columbia's 2014 transition to Crown copyright licensing and similar Australian-government open-licensing initiatives. The Canadian Library Association and Open Knowledge Foundation Canada supported the proposal. Did not pass second reading.
Status
Quick learn
Would abolish Crown copyright, which currently locks up federal government documents for 50 years, and make government-produced material public domain by default, as in the United States. An NDP private member's bill backed by libraries and open-data groups; it did not pass second reading.
Issues this bill touches
- Arts, Culture & Heritage
Limits Crown copyright on federal documents, freeing more government records into the public domain.
Legislative history
- First reading
First reading in the House of Commons.
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Official source
Read full text on Parliament of Canada