CMRRA wholeheartedly thanks the Canadian Government for its decision to extend the term of copyright in works to the life of the author plus 70 years, consistent with international standards. This section of the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) brings Canada in line with most of it’s major trading partners. At least 75 countries worldwide, including the United States, Australia, and the entire European Union have embraced an international standard of the life of the author plus 70 years.
“On behalf of CMRRA’s rightsholders, I fervently congratulate Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Minister Chrystia Freeland, the Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez and Minister Navdeep Bains on this most welcomed and long-awaited decision,” said CMRRA President Caroline Rioux.
CMRRA acts as an agent for more than 6,000 music publishers and self-published songwriters. Together, they represent more than 80,000 music catalogs and millions songs which comprise the vast majority of musical works commercially used in Canada. CMRRA looks forward to continuing to work with the government during the ongoing copyright review process in order to find solutions that provide a modern legal framework for copyright protection in Canada.