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Crown copyright e-petition update
Thank you to everyone who supported the Crown copyright e-petition 1116, which asked the Government of Canada to make publicly available government works part of the public domain (background information available here).
The petition closed on September 23 with almost three times the number of signatories required for certification. It is also one of the few e-petitions to have signatories from all provinces and territories. The e-petition is scheduled for tabling in the House of Commons on Friday, October 20. The Government of Canada will then have 45 days to respond.
Conversations generated by this process have been inspiring. It was especially rewarding to hear directly from supporters in the private and government sectors, given that much of the evidence we were working with was based on the experiences of those in post-secondary environments.
Let’s hope this work, combined with new writing on the topic and the support of stakeholders like CAUT, Creative Commons Canada, the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL), and the Canadian Federation of Library Associations (CFLA) will help make the case that Crown copyright reform needs to be part of the upcoming review of the Copyright Act. It is imperative that libraries are able to remain stewards of government information in the digital age, without unnecessary restrictions and barriers.
Sincerely,
Amanda Wakaruk
