Osgoode Hall Review of Law and Policy (OHRLP)

In November 2007, the Songwriters Association of Canada (SAC) released a proposal for the monetization of the file sharing of music in Canada. This article attempts to determine whether or not Canada, given its international and bilateral treaty agreements, could ever adopt the SAC’s proposal. The article approaches this analysis through the “three-step test”, which was adopted under the Berne Convention in 1971 and enshrined in the subsequent TRIPS Agreement and NAFTA; the article also analyzes whether or not the Proposal is compatible with Canada’s obligations under the Rome Convention.  The article concludes that, without amendments to the international treaties to copyright of which Canada is a part, a proposal like SAC’s could not be successfully enacted.

Barry Sookman, "The SAC Proposal for the Monetization of the File Sharing of Music in Canada: Does it Comply with Canada's International Treaty Obligations Related to Copyright?" (2008) 1 Osgoode Hall Rev.L.Pol'y. 101.