Rights for Writers: Proposed Copyright Law Threatens Writers' Ability to Earn a Fair Living in Canada
Dear C-11 Committee Members (Copyright Modernization Bill):
We are professional freelance writers and we have grave concerns about the proposed Bill C-11. This bill in its current form will undoubtedly have a negative impact on our ability to earn a fair living as small business owners.
The writing industry as a whole has lagged behind others in terms of compensation growth. Where other industries have seen consistent increases, ours has continued to decline. Rates of pay are often the same as in the 1970s. One way that writers are able to have fair earning potential is by maintaining copyright on works produced. Bill C-11 jeopardizes that by allowing unlimited copying of material and its ill-defined exception for education under fair dealing.
In the music and film industries, copying of content without proper authorization from, and compensation to, its creator(s) is called piracy – and it is illegal. It is incumbent on your committee that writers are afforded the same ownership protection of their works.
Bill C-11 in its current form reduces our ability to earn a fair living and potentially could collapse an entire small business industry. This industry is vital to the cultural preservation of the Canadian identity. We contribute to the perspective and views that are uniquely Canadian. Bill C-11 has the potential to derail our industry and force people out of work. As with any industry, there are ripple effects beyond the immediate and obvious that should be considered.
We and our colleagues across Canada expect you will push to change Bill C-11 so that it will maintain our right to operate a small business, to protect our rights as creators and our ability to earn a fair living.
Sincerely,
Members of the Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC) - Toronto
Chapter, and allied members of the writing community
Updates
Reached 250 supporters
February 17, 2012
Reached 100 supporters
November 30, 2011
8 Comments
Literally cant believe this is even being considered. Its our livelihoods on the line.
So many of my friends are freelance writers and they are struggling enough as it is. Dont make it harder for them to put food on the table
Writers work just as hard as musicians and film makers. Why should their stuff be free? This is just wrong.
FIX THIS BILL NOW. Stop punishing the people who actually produce the culture we all enjoy.
Ridiculous that people think content is just free for the taking. Pay the creators!
Stop Bill C-11
Sir, How would you like it if people copied your hard creative works that may have taken you three to five years to write, and you received nothing for it? I have seen this over and over on the internet, all illegal of course. We sneer at countries who never signed the Copyright Convention, because they publish our works completely on their own without any payment at all. If you had a son or daughter who wrote books that won awards all over the world and the government of your country deprived him or her of an income for copying his or her work in this, the country of your child's birth, wouldn't you be outraged on that child's behalf? Do you know that I wrote 7 books that were accepted for publication, over nearly 12 years of hard labour (it gets harder, as we writers demand more for ourselves) before I made just barely $40,000 a year? One of the sources of my income was my annual cheque from Access Copyright. Mr. Harper wrote a book. I wonder how he would feel if it was legal in Canada to copy as much of it as anyone wanted? Welwyn Wiltn Katz
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Rights for Writers: Proposed Copyright Law Threatens Writers' Ability to Earn a Fair Living in Canada
Dear C-11 Committee Members (Copyright Modernization Bill):
We are professional freelance writers and we have grave concerns about the proposed Bill C-11. This bill in its current form will undoubtedly have a negative impact on our ability to earn a fair living as small business owners.
The writing industry as a whole has lagged behind others in terms of compensation growth. Where other industries have seen consistent increases, ours has continued to decline. Rates of pay are often the same as in the 1970s. One way that writers are able to have fair earning potential is by maintaining copyright on works produced. Bill C-11 jeopardizes that by allowing unlimited copying of material and its ill-defined exception for education under fair dealing.
In the music and film industries, copying of content without proper authorization from, and compensation to, its creator(s) is called piracy – and it is illegal. It is incumbent on your committee that writers are afforded the same ownership protection of their works.
Bill C-11 in its current form reduces our ability to earn a fair living and potentially could collapse an entire small business industry. This industry is vital to the cultural preservation of the Canadian identity. We contribute to the perspective and views that are uniquely Canadian. Bill C-11 has the potential to derail our industry and force people out of work. As with any industry, there are ripple effects beyond the immediate and obvious that should be considered.
We and our colleagues across Canada expect you will push to change Bill C-11 so that it will maintain our right to operate a small business, to protect our rights as creators and our ability to earn a fair living.
Sincerely,
Members of the Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC) - Toronto
Chapter, and allied members of the writing community
Updates
Reached 250 supporters
February 17, 2012
Reached 100 supporters
November 30, 2011
8 Comments
Canadian writers deserve better than this. Respect copyright.
Literally cant believe this is even being considered. Its our livelihoods on the line.
So many of my friends are freelance writers and they are struggling enough as it is. Dont make it harder for them to put food on the table
Writers work just as hard as musicians and film makers. Why should their stuff be free? This is just wrong.
FIX THIS BILL NOW. Stop punishing the people who actually produce the culture we all enjoy.
Ridiculous that people think content is just free for the taking. Pay the creators!
Stop Bill C-11
Sir, How would you like it if people copied your hard creative works that may have taken you three to five years to write, and you received nothing for it? I have seen this over and over on the internet, all illegal of course. We sneer at countries who never signed the Copyright Convention, because they publish our works completely on their own without any payment at all. If you had a son or daughter who wrote books that won awards all over the world and the government of your country deprived him or her of an income for copying his or her work in this, the country of your child's birth, wouldn't you be outraged on that child's behalf? Do you know that I wrote 7 books that were accepted for publication, over nearly 12 years of hard labour (it gets harder, as we writers demand more for ourselves) before I made just barely $40,000 a year? One of the sources of my income was my annual cheque from Access Copyright. Mr. Harper wrote a book. I wonder how he would feel if it was legal in Canada to copy as much of it as anyone wanted? Welwyn Wiltn Katz
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Canadian writers deserve better than this. Respect copyright.