Stop the TPP's Copyright Trap in Canada
Canada has long stood firm against demands by Hollywood and other big publishers to extend its copyright terms. But now, the TPP threatens to override this democratically-affirmed stance. Speak out now and urge Canadian party leaders to come out against backroom deals that keep culture and knowledge locked up for decades.
When the length of copyright restriction is too long, everyone loses—except for big movie studios, music labels, and publishers. They make massive profits by maintaining a monopoly over our shared culture and knowledge.
That's why the MPAA, the RIAA, and other powerful industry organizations are lobbying trade officials to put lengthy copyright terms into the TPP, alongside similarly draconian provisions. Canadian content lobby groups are also singing the same tune.
The TPP threatens to trap 20 years worth of culture from entering the public domain in Canada.
The U.S. is pressuring its trading partners, including Canada, to extend the length of copyright restriction to the lifetime of the creator plus 70 years after their death. In the case of works with corporate authors, the term would extend to 95 years from the first publication, or if not published within 25 years of its creation, 120 years from then.
These copyright term provisions represent exactly what's wrong with the TPP.
This deal is driven by and for corporate interests that have privileged access to the secret negotiations at the expense of users and the public interest as a whole. Such long copyright terms rob the public domain of new works. That means creators will continue to be limited in how they can use the building blocks of culture to create new works and expand on old ones.
Tell Canadian party leaders to resist Big Content's demands to extend copyright terms, along with the other copyright restrictions in the TPP.
Speak out today. Help us save Canada from the TPP's Copyright Trap.
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