The Upcoming Copyright Clash

Acursory review of the state of Canadian culture might lead some observers to conclude that the industry has never been healthier. From Avril Lavigne to Yann Martel to Denys Arcand, Canadians have enjoyed unprecedented international critical and commercial success, winning Grammys, Bookers and Oscars.

This success has been accompanied by both governmental support and increasing royalty payments to Canada’s copyright collectives, which license works on behalf of their owners. The federal government, flush with a budget surplus, used its February 2005 budget to confirm that it was committed to a long-term plan for culture funding with hundreds of millions of dollars allocated toward programs that support Canadian arts and culture. Canada’s copyright collectives have enjoyed enviable financial success, with the leading Access Copyright reporting earnings of nearly $27 million in 2003, a 50 percent increase in the six years since the formation of the...