Copyright has long been viewed as one of the government’s most difficult policy issues. It attracts passionate views from a wide range of stakeholders, including creators, consumers, businesses, and educators and it is the source of significant political pressure from the United States. The latest chapter in the Canadian copyright saga unfolded in June 2010 as Industry Minister Tony Clement and Canadian Heritage James Moore tabled Bill C-32, copyright reform legislation billed as providing both balance and a much-needed modernization of the law. The introduction marked the culmination of months of public discussion and internal government debate.

This book represents an effort by some of Canada’s leading copyright experts to shift away from the sloganeering that has marked the debate to date by moving toward an informed analysis of Bill C-32 and the future development of Canadian copyright law. Edited by Professor Michael Geist, an internationally regarded authority on Internet and technology law, it responds to the need for non-partisan, informed analysis of Bill C-32. An exceptional group of Canadian scholars from coast-to-coast have come together to assess Canada’s plans for copyright reform and the digital agenda in this timely volume that features context for the reforms, analysis of its impact on technology, business, education, and creators, as well as a look ahead to future copyright and digital issues.

Michael Geist is a law professor at the University of Ottawa, where he holds the Canada Research Chair of Internet and E-commerce Law. He has obtained a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees from Cambridge University in the UK and Columbia Law School in New York, and a Doctorate in Law (J.S.D.) from Columbia Law School.

Dr. Geist has written numerous academic articles and government reports on the Internet and law, is a nationally syndicated columnist on technology law issues for the Toronto Star and Ottawa Citizen, is the editor of Internet and E-commerce Law in Canada and the Canadian Privacy Law Review (Butterworths), and is the author of the textbook Internet Law in Canada (Captus Press), which is now in its third edition. He is the author of the popular BNA's Internet Law News and maintains a popular blog on Internet and intellectual property law issues.

Dr. Geist is actively involved in national Internet policy development and was a member of Canada's National Task Force on Spam. He has received numerous awards for his work, including Canarie's IWAY Public Leadership Award for his contribution to the development of the Internet in Canada, and he was named one of Canada's Top 40 Under 40 in 2003.

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