After years of consultation and debate, Canada has passed legislation to extend copyright protection by 20 years to a “life-plus-70” term.
Amendments to the Copyright Act were included in Bill C-19, the Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No.1, and are expected to come into force before the end of the calendar year. This move fulfils a key commitment made by Canada in the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, and follows a 20-year extension to copyright terms for published sound recordings, performers’ performances and certain audiovisual works, which took effect in June 2015.