PIAC commented on the Consultation on a Modern Copyright Framework for Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things

In September, the department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada launched a consultation “[t]o gather additional evidence to help the Government determine whether and what copyright policy measures should be taken to ensure Canada's copyright framework continues to achieve its underlying policy objectives and related priorities in the face of the challenges brought about by [artificial intelligence] AI and [internet of things] IoT.”

In general, PIAC commented our support for the government’s efforts to expand users’ rights through the clarification and development of exceptions in the Copyright Act and asks that the government promote society’s interest in fostering future creative innovation by prioritizing a robust public domain and ensuring users are able to fully exercise their access rights.

Circumventing technological protection measures (TPM), used by copyright holders to control access to digital copyrighted content, is currently prohibited under the Copyright Act. In our submission, we support the development of an exception to this prohibition to enable the repair of software-embedded devices. We would go even further and ask that the government consider creating a corresponding exception to copyright infringement for the purpose of repair either by expanding the fair dealings exception or creating a standalone provision, similar to that which exists for computer interoperability. PIAC also supports updating the language in the computer interoperability TPM circumvention exception and its corresponding copyright infringement exception to ensure these provisions are able to meet their objective of safeguarding innovation in the modern TPM landscape.

Finally, in regard to AI and text-data-mining (TDM), we ask that the government prioritize the public’s interest in maintaining a robust public domain by refraining from granting copyright protections to works generated or even assisted by AI. If the government does opt to extend protections to these works, we ask that both generated and assisted works be given the same sui generis rights and a shorter term of protection so that the public can access them sooner. Lastly, PIAC believes that TDM is likely already captured by the fair dealing exception, but supports the government’s desire to clarify the permissibility of TDM, either through the explicit expansion of the fair dealing exception or through the creation of a new exception. We recommend that any steps taken do not result in more expense to the user because any user fees will be passed onto the consumer and create new barriers to access, undermining the public’s interest in the dissemination of new ideas.

Read our full submission here