Canadian Anti-Counterfeiting Network Applauds New Copyright Bill

TORONTO, June 2 /CNW/ - The Canadian Anti-Counterfeiting Network (CACN) congratulated the federal Government on the release of its new copyright bill today. With the speed of evolution of digital technologies, arriving at the correct balance between the rights of creators, users, producers and distributors of copyright works is a challenging task and CACN applauds the Government of Canada's efforts to do so in consultation with Canadians through the extensive consultation process that occurred last summer.

"The introduction of new copyright legislation is long overdue and our members look forward to reviewing the bill in more detail," said Brian Isaac, Chair of CACN. "We strongly urge Members of Parliament from all parties to act quickly and decisively in passing legislation that will fully implement Canada's commitments under the WIPO Internet Treaties and protect Canada's knowledge-based industries."

Organized criminal networks reap huge profits through black market distribution of counterfeit and pirated products. The problem in Canada has grown into a complex, sophisticated criminal activity that robs billions from our economy, and puts the health and safety of Canadians at risk. Strong copyright protection is an important first step in dealing with this critical issue.

The Canadian Anti-Counterfeiting Network (CACN) is a coalition of individuals, companies, firms and associations that have united in the fight against product counterfeiting and copyright piracy in Canada and internationally. The originating members of CACN include broad-based organizations, such as the Canadian Association of Importers and Exporters, the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), the Electro-Federation Canada, the Canadian Entertainment Software Association and the Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association; companies from a range of industries; and law firms representing a host of intellectual property (IP) rights holders - Canadian and foreign - with significant businesses in Canada.

For further information: visit www.cacn.ca or contact Julien Lavoie, CACN Public Relations, [phone] ext. 248 or [email protected]