Canada House Passes C-244 Right-to-Repair Legislation

In an Oct. 27 note to members, Agricultural Manufacturers of Canada explained the recent passing of Canadian right-to-repair legislature. The note reads as follows:

On October 18, the House of Commons passed C-244, An Act to amend the Copyright Act (diagnosis, maintenance and repair), sponsored by Liberal MP Wilson Miao.  With support from all parties, the bill passed third reading in the House and will be considered by the Senate later this fall.

In his final speech on the proposed legislation, MP Miao did acknowledge the advocacy of the sector, stating:

“Some witnesses at the standing committee raised concerns over health and safety, cybersecurity and environmental risks that may result from the circumvention of TPMs and the repair of products. They asked for the exclusion of certain categories of products from the application of Bill C-244. I sincerely appreciate that these industry representatives voiced their concern during the study of this bill for our legislative process.

The Copyright Act is a law of general application, the purpose of which is to grant exclusive rights over creative works. It is more desirable that these concerns be addressed in regimes that already regulate those categories of products. Bill C-244 would not prevent these regimes from regulating repairs or addressing issues that may arise in the repair of certain products.“

With passage through the House, senators will have an opportunity to evaluate the legislation through committee meetings and offer amendments.