Authors and publishers urge Canada's government to ratify 'immediately' USCMA

By Emmanuel Legrand

Songwriters, composers and music publishers in Canada have urged the Canadian government and the Parliament to ratify “as soon as possible” the US-Canada-Mexico Agreement (USCMA).

  The trade agreement contains intellectual property provisions, in particular the extension of the term of protection to the life of the author plus 70 years. Currently, in Canada, the term is of 50 years following the death of an author. The adoption of the measure would put Canada in line with most Western countries.

  However, the Canadian government is understood to contemplate only introducing this provision after the 30-month transition period from the effective ratification of the treaty.

Enact immediately the treaty

  The letter – signed by Canadian Musical Mechanical Rights Agency (CMRRA), Music Publishers Canada, Screen Composers Guild of Canada (SCGC), Songwriters' Association of Canada, and rights society SOCAN alongside Quebec's Association des Professionnels de l'Edition Musicale (APEM) and the Société Professionnelle des Auteurs et des Compositeurs du Québec (SPACQ) – asked Parliamentarians to enact “immediately, without unnecessary delay and with no conditions” the term extension provisions in USCMA.

  The signatories argued that “modernising the Copyright Act to ensure Canadian rights holders have the same protections as their international competitors is a much-needed move to help Canadian creators, and the companies that invest in them, to continue exporting their creations around the world. A forward-looking, digitally attuned copyright regime will foster Canadian innovation, investment, and growth in a key economic sector for our great country.”

  They added: “It is imperative that USCMA be ratified quickly to ensure that Canadian songwriters, composers and the small and large businesses that invest in music publishing are properly compensated for their work. Adding another 20 years to the life of a copyright means a robust creative sector, more Canadian cultural exports, and the growth of many innovative businesses that have embraced the digital market. It is long past time for Canada to catch up to its international trading partners in this respect.”

Outdated term of copyright

  The letter echoes a similar initiative from the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC). In a letter to Canadian policy-makers Jean Michel Jarre, the President of the Paris-based organisation, whose members represents over four million creators in the world, alongside Vice Presidents Angélique Kidjo, Marcelo Piñeyro, Miquel Barceló and Jia Zhang-ke have called on the early ratification of USCMA without delays, arguing that Canada is the only G7 country with an outdated term of copyright. 

  “Canada’s authors and publishers deserve to be fairly recognised for their work and enjoy the same protection as their overseas peer authors without delay,” reads the letter.