Bill C-60

Bill C-60 was a proposed law to amend the Canadian Copyright Act initiated by the Government of Canada in the First Session of the Thirty-Eighth Parliament. Introduced by then Minister of Canadian Heritage and Minister responsible for Status of Women Liza Frulla and then Minister of Industry David Emerson as "An Act to Amend the Copyright Act", it received its First Reading in the Canadian House of Commons on June 20, 2005. Bill C-60 passed its First Reading, with the Second Reading scheduled for the fall of 2005. On November 29, 2005, the opposition to the government tabled a non-confidence motion which passed, dissolving Parliament and effectively killed the bill. The subsequent government tabled a new bill called C-61, which also died with a dissolution of Parliament.

Bill C-60 primarily implemented amendments to meet compliance obligations of two WIPO treaties Canada is seeking to ratify, the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty. In particular Technology Protection Measures (TPMs) and Rights Management Information (RMI), components of Digital Rights Management (DRM) systems are addressed. It also included updates addressing short-term copyright reform issues dealing with the "challenges and opportunities presented by the Internet and digital technology in general", fulfilling the Government Statement on Proposals for Copyright Reform, originally tabled on March 24, 2005. These focus on subjects such as network service provider liability, remote technology-based learning, and digital inter-library loans. Finally, photography issues were also given attention.

Seen as the Canadian equivalent to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in the United States, Bill C-60 met with public opposition before its first reading, with approximately 1800 Canadians signing the Petition for Users' Rights. Those opposed to the bill see Bill C-60 as a move towards strengthening rights for copyright holders, while conceding the rights of users. They appealed to the government to "protect creative, cultural and communications rights."