Bill C-32, An Act to amend the Copyright Act, was a bill tabled on June 2, 2010 during the third session of the 40th Canadian Parliament by Minister of Industry Tony Clement and by Minister of Canadian Heritage James Moore.
This bill served as the successor of the previously proposed but short-lived Bill C-61 in 2008 as well as an earlier attempt in 2005, and sought to tighten Canadian copyright laws.[1] In November 2010, it passed the second reading in the parliament [2] In March 2011, the 40th Canadian Parliament was dissolved, with all the bills which did not pass by that point (including bill C-32) automatically becoming dead.
However, on September 29th 2011, Minister of Canadian Heritage James Moore and Minister of Industry Christian Paradis announced the reintroduction of the Government of Canada's Copyright Modernization Act under the new designation of Bill C-11.[3]
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The bill would criminalize the act of circumventing, or making available to the public the ability to circumvent, digital rights management software locks.[1]
Many Canadians, including Michael Geist, criticised the bill's attempts to follow American-style copyright law. Artists and consumers both asked for further consultation on the bill, stating that it infringes on a private citizen's right to transfer something they own to another medium, and that the prohibition against circumventing corporate software designed to lock users out would hamper research.[4] According to CBC News, the bill would even criminalise "websites designed to encourage violation and piracy".[5]
Heritage Minister James Moore decried critics of the bill as being "radical extremists".[4]