The new school year is off to a busy start…

The federal election is coming soon and Copibec is welcoming new people to our team as well as launching a new home page for SAMUEL, our online platform for the education sector.

Executive Director’s update

Copyright Act review and federal election

The federal election campaign is now in full swing. In the coming weeks, Copibec intends to highlight the importance of a balanced Copyright Act and defend the rights of creators. As you know, the 2012 amendments caused a dramatic drop in royalties both here in Quebec and across Canada, and the arts and culture sector will continue to bear the brunt if our elected officials don't get it right this time. Because copyright is about achieving balance.

What’s happening this fall

The warm weather this summer didn’t mean that Copibec was taking it easy. Even as the summer season was kicking off, our team was already getting ready for fall. During the summer months, we put the finishing touches on a new look for SAMUEL, our digital platform for the education sector. At the end of August, we went live with a brand new home page for SAMUEL. Our Education team also developed a FAQ (in French) and shared 4 tips to make reporting easier during the new school year.

Last lump sum payment for 2019

After the freelance writers in June, it will soon be time for book rightsholders to receive their lump sum (repertoire) payment, which should be distributed in the coming weeks. Watch for more news! And make sure you don’t miss any information about your copyright collective’s activities by following us on Facebook and Twitter.

Two departures and three recruits

Our new Director – Education, Jean-Sébastien Vallée, joined the Copibec team in July. We also welcomed Rémi Charest as Education Assistant to help us process requests for digital material for persons with perceptual disabilities, as well as Mélissa Nilsson as an Officer in our Businesses and Governments team. We’d like to wish all three a warm welcome!

In addition, we had to say farewell to Fatiha Souidi, our IT Analyst-Advisor, and Roseline Lemire-Cadieux, Officer – Businesses and Governments. Both are leaving to take on new challenges. The entire Copibec team would like to wish them much success and satisfaction in their endeavours and thank them very much for their services.

Frédérique Couette
Executive Director

Copyright news from Canada and beyond

Montreal: Opposition party targets e-book lending

On August 19, the official opposition at Montreal city hall tabled a motion to make it easer to borrow digital books from public libraries. Criticized by the Union des écrivaines et des écrivains québécois (UNEQ), the motion proposed unlimited lending, regardless of the number of readers or length of time, without any waiting lists, digital rights management or technical constraints. Fortunately, the motion was voted down.

Read the article in Le Devoir (in French).

Lawsuit against Audible

U.S. publishers have launched a lawsuit against Audible, which produces audiobooks. Audible Captions is a recently introduced feature that shows the text on screen as a book is narrated. The unauthorized content could then be distributed free of charge to students and Audible subscribers.

Read the article on Quill and Quire.

Coalition for Culture and Media raises issues during federal election

With the federal election now underway, the Coalition for Culture and Media (CCM) is saying that the government, through its inaction, has to take a share of the blame in the crisis currently affecting the media. The CCM is “calling for federal laws and regulations concerning broadcasting and copyright protection to be adapted to the new reality.”

Read the press release from the Coalition for Culture and Media.

Discover SAMUEL’s new home page

SAMUEL has had a makeover! Our team has been working very hard during the past few months to create an updated home page, just in (...)

Back to school: 4 steps to make the new school year easier

Did you hear the bell ? Everyone’s back in school. Ready or not, it’s time to clean the whiteboards and get out your new lesson plans !

If you work in an educational institution at (...)

Copibec’s new Education Director

We’re very pleased to introduce our new Education Director, Jean-Sébastien Vallée, who started in his position this past summer. His primary role will be to evaluate and identify the education (...)