In the early 2000s the federal government began a round of copyright reform aimed at addressing developments in digital information technology. Advances in this technology have disrupted the traditional operation of the Copyright Act, simultaneously creating opportunities for complete copyright control by corporate rights-owners as well as mass, illegal, instantaneous duplication by commercial pirates. More subtly the new technology has also enhanced the ability of copyright users to become creators in their own right; breaking down old distinctions between creator and user, between broadcaster and audience, and even between educator and learner.

Good public policy must therefore ensure that digital technology protects the legitimate copyright interests of creators (artists, writers, musicians, researchers) and prevents copyright owners from using new technologies to restrict reasonable access to, and use of, information resources. Unfortunately, copyright policy in Canada has long been dominated by commercial interests who reject such balance. Canada continues to be under intense pressure from the U.S. government and the international entertainment industry to grant sweeping new protections to rights-holders. In particular, successive Canadian governments have been urged to adopt a version of the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), a controversial piece of legislation that locks down digital data.

In a break with tradition, a groundswell of grassroots opposition has prevented the federal government from bowing to this corporate pressure. A new generation of activists from the general public and specific groups such as students, teachers, consumers, librarians and even sectors of the business community has stopped the Copyright Act from being tipped further in favour of commercial rights holders at the expense of the public interest. While this is a great victory, the struggle now is moving from a defensive position to one from which actual improvements to the Act can be demanded. As users, creators, and owners of copyrighted works, students are well-placed to play a prominent role in the struggle for balanced copyright law. Key issues in this struggle are:

Students are served by a Copyright Act that fairly balances the interests of users, creators, and owners of copyright works. It is only with such balance that a robust information commons—a place where information and knowledge exist as our shared heritage—can thrive.