Bill C-32: An Act to amend the Copyright Act
| Bill C-32: An Act to amend the Copyright Act | |
|---|---|
| Legislative history | |
| Bill citation | Bill C-32 |
| Introduced by | Tony Clement and James Moore |
| First reading | June 2, 2010 |
| Second reading | November 5, 2010 |
| Status: Not passed | |
Bill C-32: An Act to amend the Copyright Act (French: Projet de loi C-32 modifiant la Loi sur le droit d'auteur) was a bill introduced in the House of Commons in 2010 by the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The ministers responsible were Minister of Industry Tony Clement and Minister of Canadian Heritage James Moore. This bill served as the successor to the previously proposed but short-lived Bill C-61 in 2008 and sought to tighten Canadian copyright laws regarding digital intellectual property. In March 2011, the 40th Canadian Parliament was dissolved, with all the bills which had not passed by that point (including Bill C-32) automatically dying on the order paper.
Many restrictions in the bill were harshly criticized, especially those restricting the circumvention of digital locks. Law professor Michael Geist commented that the bill was introduced by an "out-of-touch Moore, who has emerged as a staunch advocate for a Canadian DMCA". After Bill C-32's introduction, James Moore responded to criticism by calling the bill's detractors "radical extremists". In the aftermath of the bill, the United States diplomatic cables leak revealed ongoing pressure from US officials wanting Canada to pass stricter copyright laws.
The bill was revived in the next Parliament as Bill C-11, the Copyright Modernization Act, on September 29, 2011.