Copyright Law

Clement: No Copyright Bill Until Late 2009 At the Earliest, Spring 2010 Possible

By Michael Geist

CBC's Spark has posted video of a media scrum with Industry Minister Tony Clement following last night's town hall meeting.  The full video is worth watching (embedded below), but I think the key comment comes toward the end when he discusses the timing of a new bill. In answer to the question "when can we expect the bill," he states "we're not quite sure. My personal target date was December 11th, but if it takes an extra couple of weeks or an extra couple of months to get the bill right, I'm also of that view too.  So we have a target but we're not even at the tough stuff yet when you have draft and get something on paper." This comment suggests that the bill could easily slip until the spring of 2010, given that there has been no drafting, the consultation is still running, and the Minister has just opened the door to delaying into next year in order to get the bill right.

Full post as published by Michael Geist on August 28, 2009 (boomark / email).