Copyright’s Role in Preserving and Ensuring Access to Culture: The Way Forward

Macklem, L. (2019). Copyright’s Role in Preserving and Ensuring Access to Culture: The Way Forward. Digital Studies/le Champ Numérique, 9(1), 10. http://doi.org/10.16995/dscn.300

Copyright has traditionally been concerned with balancing economic incentives with creative opportunity and innovation. When purely economic interests are the primary or sole drivers in directing control over cultural works, culture itself is threatened. The danger to global culture is increased when a single culture is able to dominate both policy and regulation. What may be beneficial for a developed country may not be beneficial for a developing country, and in fact, what may be beneficial for a developed country may have disastrous effects on developing countries’ ability to access or exploit their own Intellectual Property. Canada’s experience in protecting its cultural heritage can be illustrative for other countries. Copyright has traditionally been supported with a strong commitment to fostering Canadian Culture through the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission and Canadian content requirements. Access and nurturing culture must also be facilitated through the regulation of telecommunications, especially in an ever expanding global, digital environment. Canada’s 2019 review of the Copyright Act must take into account the changing global landscape to ensure that Canadian voices can still be heard.

via https://www.univie.ac.at/voeb/blog/?p=49636