Canada extends copyright law to cyberspace

Canada has amended its Copyright Act in a bid to give greater protection to the recording industry against sharing digital music files. The Bill will also exempt ISPs from copyright liability for providing Canadians with access to the Internet, reports The Globe and Mail. The Bill says explicitly that the ‘making available’ right, which gives the copyright holder the exclusive right to control who gets the material and how, has been extended to cyberspace. The original Copyright Act was not clear on that issue. Copyright holders are to get new rights, including the right to technological protection measures, rights-management information, the ability to control the first distribution of material in tangible form, new moral rights for performances, performers would get reproduction rights, and an adjustment in the term of protection for sound recordings.