The Impact of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) on Canadian Copyright Law

With the advent of The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), the protection and enforceability of intellectual property rights will continue growing. Canadians, like other citizens whose countries may adhere to this treaty, would notice major changes to the legal systems regulating their rights and obligations with respect to intellectual property. With respect to copyright law, by deciding to be a party of ACTA, Canada would be facing a true challenge of fulfilling its international obligations and at the same time preserving its carefully drawn copyright law and policy. This paper argues that the impact of ACTA on Canadian copyright law would be noticeable; the proposed treaty would import into Canadian copyright law notions that are not in harmony with its purpose, provisions, and/or judicial interpretation. Further, the paper argues that ACTA will be foremost in mind in the ongoing reform to the Copyright Act; this means, if ACTA is concluded and the reform to the Canadian Copyright Act fails, another unfulfilled international promise will be added to the shoulder of Canadian copyright policy makers, like the one pertinent to the WIPO Internet Treaties